High Flier
by labelbasher
Summary: COMPLETED...Normally people run away to the circus, so what happens when a girl runs away from the circus and runs (literally) into Jack Sparrow? Sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow. Read on to find out...
1. Running Away From the Circus

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High Flier

Chapter 1 - Running Away From The Circus

~Pirate Rhi

Well, here I am with a brand new story that I said I'd post about a month ago…heh heh…call me slack…call me lazy…but tell me in a review…=) lol. This story's been my baby for so long, I've spent ages writing it and perfecting it and I'm quite proud of it. I hope you guys like it.

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She climbed up the seemingly endless ladder, step by step, until she reached the small platform at the top, climbing onto it with no assistance from any handholds. She straightened herself up and grasped the wooden bar in front of her, releasing the ropes holding it in place and awaited her cue.

"Now, what you've all been waiting for, folks! The safety net has been taken away! The most dangerous performance of the night will be done by…" the booming voice of Basil filled the huge tent, building up the excitement in the audience. "The amazing…the graceful…the lovely…Alexandra!"

This as her cue, Alexandra jumped off the platform, grasping the wooden trapeze bar, swinging out of the shadows and into the brightly lit centre of the ring. After swinging a couple of times to build up speed, she hooked her legs over the bar and let go with her hands so that she was swinging upside down. Looking behind her, she could see Dickon swinging towards her on the other trapeze. She outstretched her arms, and at the exact right moment, she swung her legs off the wooden bar, grasping Dickon's arms. His hands tightened around her arms at the same moment. The tension from the audience filled the tent as they gasped at this move.

Dickon and Alexandra swung one more time, building up some speed before the final trick. When they reached the peak of the backwards swing, Dickon let go of Alexandra's arms, and propelled her high into the air, where she did a perfect double somersault in the air before she felt her arms being grasped by Otto. She tightened her own hands around his arms, and he helped her hook her legs onto the double trapeze next to him, where she swung upside down, waving at the audience, who were clapping and cheering. If there was one thing that she really enjoyed, that was performing. She loved the audience's reactions to her performance.

Marty was standing on the platform, and he hooked the trapeze with a long rod with a hook on the end, and pulled them back in, where Alexandra flipped herself off, before climbing down the ladder and stalking out of the tent towards her caravan, wanting to get away from everyone as quick as possible.

Alexandra heard footsteps close in on her, and an arm snake around her shoulders. He leaned in and smelled her dark blonde hair, which she'd pulled out of its bun. "That was a good performance tonight." Dickon crooned in her ear.

Alexandra pushed his arm off her shoulder. "Don't ever touch me again, Dickon." She hissed. "I'm not putting up with your crap anymore. Go away and leave me alone!" She reached her caravan and entered it, slamming the door in Dickon's face. She collapsed on the bed, falling into a fitful sleep, wishing that she were anywhere but here.

******

The next day, Alexandra made her way to the stables where all the animals were kept. She nodded her greetings to Mandy, who was changing the hay in the horse's stalls before making her way down to the largest stall at the end. This was the stall where Heidi was kept. Heidi was Basil's Travelling Circus's only elephant after her male counterpart, Gustav, had died two years ago.

Alexandra often visited Heidi, pouring out her troubles and thoughts to the elephant, because even though she'd been with the circus for over 10 years, she hadn't allowed herself to get close to anyone else. As a result of these almost daily visits, Alexandra was the only person, besides her trainer, that Heidi tolerated in her stall.

"Good morning Heidi." Alexandra greeted the elephant, rubbing the elephant's big ears, which she knew what the elephant really liked. The elephant responded by gently wrapping her big trunk around Alexandra's body and lifting her onto her back. Alexandra leaned forward onto the elephant's big head, spilling her heart to her big grey friend.

******

"Captain. We hafta dock now. The _Pearl_ ain't gonna hold up much longer. It's leakin' water all into the hold. We'll sink down to Davy Jones' locker if we don't get it fixed now." Gibbs informed Jack, who was standing, as per usual, at the helm of the _Black Pearl_, keeping the wheel steady with one hand.

"Fetch me my maps." Jack instructed, as they were in unfamiliar waters.

"Aye, sir." Gibbs said, hurrying off to Jack's cabin, grabbing the map of the area off the table, bringing it back out to Jack, who mentally worked out their bearings, tracing their path so far on the map. He placed his finger on the map at the place where the _Pearl_ was now, then pointed to the nearest port town, where they could get repairs. "This looks good enough." He said. "Port Collins."

"Aye, sir."

"About sail to Port Collins! Get to work you scabberous dogs!" Jack yelled to the crew as he checked his compass and turned the ship in the direction of Port Collins.

******

Alexandra swung around on the low practise trapezes, perfecting new techniques, and practising her existing routines. She was often found in the practise area, as she could easily lose herself in the exercise, not having to think about her life for once, because she had to concentrate on what she was doing. She remembered one time when she wasn't totally concentrating, and that was when she made the mistake. She fell awkwardly and injured her ankle. Basil was angry, to say the least. It was their final show that night, and she wouldn't be fit to perform. She was his best trapeze artist, he had said, how were they supposed to bring in the money if she wasn't performing? She had learned her lesson after the show late that night. Basil had taken to her with his whip, cracking the thing over her back 10 painful times. She still had the scars, which served as a reminder to _never_ lose concentration.

Finishing with the trapezes, she moved onto the tightrope, which she occasionally performed on, if Marissa was unavailable. Sometimes they also performed together, if Basil wanted a spectacular show. She also used it to improve her balance. Climbing up the stepladder, she stepped carefully onto the taut rope, catching her balance before working her way down the rest of the rope, practising some of the fancy steps that Marissa had taught her.

"Alexandra." The commanding voice of Basil filled the practise tent.

Alexandra jumped off the tightrope, placing one hand on her hip as she regarded Basil cooly. "Yes, Basil. What do you want?"

"Dickon has complained about you. He said that you're being cold to him for no reason at all. Alexandra, you have to start interacting with people."

"You? Worried about my social life? I don't think so. I don't interact with people because I don't like them. Dickon can complain all he likes. I know what he wants, and I'm not giving it to him."

"Have it your way. I give up on you. You're a great performer, but you're a hopeless person." Basil said, before turning and stalking out of the tent, leaving it quiet and empty. Just the way Alexandra liked it.

Putting the encounter to the back of her mind, Alexandra continued with her practise, pushing harder and harder, in an effort to drown out her thoughts and her life.

******

The _Black Pearl_ docked at Port Collins in the early afternoon. Captain Jack Sparrow instructed his crew to go ashore for the night, but to be back at the _Pearl_ bright and early the next morning, as the repairs would be finished by then.

Jack casually made his way to the nearest tavern, where he ordered a mug of rum, leaving the boat under the watch of Will and Elizabeth, who had joined his crew, deciding that they enjoyed the pirate life too much to go back to Port Royale. He made a mental note to acquire some more rum before leaving Port Collins, as they'd run out. 

Taking a gulp of the rum, Jack smiled, this was the best rum he'd tasted in a while…actually, it was the only rum he'd tasted in a while. He could almost feel his taste buds rejoicing.

******

Seeing as there was no show that night, Alexandra practised for longer than she had ever before. By the time she had finished, the sky had grown dark, her muscles were aching and her stomach was growling in want of some food.

Wiping the sweat off her forehead with a towel, Alexandra made her way over to her caravan. She opened the door and entered it, searching around in the junk tray for her matches so she could light the lamp hanging from the roof.

Preoccupied by her task, she didn't hear the gentle footsteps come up behind her. The first she knew of someone in her caravan that didn't belong was when one arm snaked around her waist and another covered her mouth. She tried to scream, but she couldn't make much of a noise with the intruder's hand over her mouth.

"I wouldn't if I were you." A voice hissed in her ear. She knew that voice.

"Dickon." She mumbled through his hand.

"That's right. And now you're gonna give me what I want."

Dickon threw Alexandra down roughly on the bed, keeping his hand over her mouth, before exchanging it for his own mouth, kissing her roughly. Alexandra tried desperately to push him off, tried to scream, but to no avail. Her hunger and her sore muscles forgotten, she instead worried for her life. There was no telling what Dickon would do. Dickon slipped his tongue into Alexandra's mouth, which gave her an idea. She bit down on his tongue as hard as she could, drawing blood. Dickon leapt off her and slapped her hard.

"You bitch!" he growled.

Alexandra put her hand up to her stinging cheek and scrambled off the bed quickly, while Dickon was preoccupied by his bleeding tongue. She punched him in the nose and kneed him in his privates for good measure before turning and bursting out the door of her caravan.

Alexandra started running, not knowing where she was going. It was all too much. Far too much. It was not, by any means, the worst thing she'd been through, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back as they say, and she had to run. 

Alexandra ran blindly, tears blurring her vision. She vaguely knew where she was. The smell of the sea was getting stronger and she knew that she was somewhere down near the wharves.

This is rather ironic, normally people run away _to_ the circus, here I am running away _from_ the circus, she thought, bursting into hysterical laughter, which soon turned to loud, gasping sobs instead. She kept on running until she suddenly crashed into something, knocking her to the ground. She soon realised that the something was actually a someone, when the person knelt down next to her and started talking to her.

"Are you all right?" a male voice asked her. Strangely enough, the voice calmed her down a bit. 

Alexandra pulled her knees tight up under her chin, hugging them to her. She shook her head. "No." she mumbled, hiccuping.

"Anythin' I can do to help?" the man asked again.

"No." Alexandra mumbled again. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and took a look at man kneeling beside her. He was wearing rather scruffy clothes, and he had long black hair, matted into dreadlocks, with beads and other trinkets braided into his hair, topped off with a tricorn hat. He was obviously a pirate. "Not unless you want to kill Dickon for me."

"Dickon, eh? I'm guessin' he's the cause of this."

"You could say that." Alexandra said, sniffing and wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "I just want to get away from all this. I hate Dickon, I hate Basil, I hate the bloody circus."

The man lifted a finger to his lips and appeared to be thinking. "I could offer you a place on my ship. I need a new crew member. You gotta be willin' to work though."

Alexandra looked up at the man's face, seeing the concern in his eyes. She was good at reading people. But why would someone she'd just met like this want to help her? Could he just genuinely be a nice guy? Nah, there was no such thing, was there? Remembering the life she'd hated so much at the circus and looking at the man in front of her, she made her decision.

"Okay. I'll join your crew." She said. "But I don't even know your name."

The man removed his hat and did a small little bow. "Captain Jack Sparrow's the name."

"I'm Alexandra."

"Alexandra, eh? Mind if I call ye Alex?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Well you try yelling out a long name like that in a hurry. I once had a guy called Michaelangelo, now that was a mouthful." He said, enunciating his speech with hand motions, which were rather comical.

******

Jack looked at this girl with interest. He wasn't sure why he offered her a place on his ship, but he could see that this girl was incredibly upset, and there was something in him that wanted to make it right for her. He felt strangely protective of her. Jack wondered why he was doing this, but he knew that deep down, behind all the stories and the crazy walk, he was a good guy, and here was a girl in need and he'd be damned if he didn't help her.

"Come on then, luv. I'll show you to the _Pearl_."

~~~~~~

So, what did you think? Good, so-so, sucky?

Next chapter should follow within a week, so look out for it.

~Rhi


	2. Alex the Pirate

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High Flier

Chapter 2 - Alex the Pirate

~Pirate Rhi

Hello again, mates. I want to thank everyone who reviewed. It meant a great deal to me.

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Lykosdracos - Loved your review. Longest one I've ever got, I think. Seriously, I think I still have a huge smile plastered across my face from all the nice things you said.

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Fadingimage - I'd say somewhere around the Caribbean or somewhere close by. I made up Port Collins, because I didn't want to have to use a real place. Useless fact: I got the name Collins off my atlas when I was trying to find a suitable place to start the story in.

I've got myself a livejournal. It's pretty random stuff, but this is the link: www . livejournal . com / users / pirate_rhi / if you want to see it. Obviously delete the spaces.

Well, without further ado, onto the story…

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Alexandra followed Jack down the pier to where Jack's ship was docked. Repairmen were busy working on the ship, plugging holes in the sides and doing general maintenance.

She followed Jack onto the _Pearl_, looking about the ship in awe. She had never been on a ship before in her life, although she'd always wanted to. She felt strangely excited about this new experience, despite the circumstances. There were two people, a man and a woman, standing at the bow of the ship. They looked over at Jack and Alex curiously as Jack led the girl onto the ship.

"Welcome to the _Black Pearl_, luv." Jack said, gesturing to his beloved ship. "Now if you'll be so kind as to follow me, I'll show you to yer quarters. You didn't bring anythin' with you, did ya?"

Alex suddenly realised that she had indeed left behind her possessions. In the rush to get away, it never crossed her mind that she wouldn't be coming back. She wasn't very eager to go back to her caravan though, there was nothing important in there that couldn't be replaced. She felt around her neck to make sure that she still had her necklace on. It was a plain chain with her mother's wedding ring on it. It was the last thing she had left of her family and she would be devastated if she ever lost it.

She was still wearing her clothes from her practise earlier that day. Pants and a skintight shirt, to allow her unrestricted movement on the trapeze and for gymnastics routines. They were the clothes she felt most comfortable in.

"No." she said in a small voice, shaking her head.

"I'm sure I'll be able to find you some extra clothes somewhere. Did you leave anythin' important behind?"

Alex shook her head again. "No."

"In that case." Jack said, pushing open a door to a small cabin. "This'll be yer sleeping quarters. You'll have the room to yerself for the moment, as one of me crew jumped ship at the last port."

Alex walked over to the hammock strung up from wall to wall in the corner of the room. She sat on it, testing the feel of it.

"Thank you Jack." She said, just as Jack had turned to leave.

"Yer welcome, luv. And it's Captain Jack, if you please." He grinned and winked at Alex, before exiting the room.

Alex lay back on the hammock, hands behind her head as a cushion. She was feeling incredibly sleepy now that this whole ordeal was over, but she did not regret her decision one bit. In fact, the only thing she would miss was Heidi the elephant. And performing. She loved the feeling of exhilaration she got when she performed in front of an audience.

Her eyes started to droop as the adrenaline she was running on slowly stopped and the tiredness began to set in. That was when she heard the knock at her door. She sat up with a start, wondering who it was.

"Uh, come in." she said hesitantly.

The door opened, revealing a young woman. She looked to be about the same age as Alex, and she had long curly dark blonde hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail. She entered the room, closing the door softly behind her. She crossed the room, and sat on the other hammock across from Alex.

"Hi. Jack said you might like some female company. I'm Elizabeth, but just call me Liz. And the other man that I was with back up on the deck is my husband, Will." She held out her hand, which Alex hesitantly shook, as she also introduced herself.

"Want to talk about it?" Elizabeth said gently, after a moment of silence.

Alex curled up again, tucking her knees in under her chin. She'd never told anyone anything about herself before. The only one who knew her life story was Heidi the elephant. But there was something about this woman in front of her that instilled trust. Elizabeth smiled gently at Alex, silently letting her know that for once in her life she could trust someone with some information about herself that wouldn't be used against her. 

Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I was a performer at Basil's Travelling Circus. To cut a long story short, there was this guy called Dickon who tried to rape me, so I ran away." Alex said monotonously, trying not to relive the horror permanently implanted in her head.

******

Elizabeth watched the girl curl up protectively and instantly felt sorry for her. She could tell that this girl had been thorough a lot just by the dull, tired look in her blue eyes. She'd only said a couple of sentences about what had happened, but Elizabeth could sense the underlying pain to the story. And it was more than likely that there many more stories with just as much pain. This girl had built up so many walls to protect herself. She'd been through so much that this was the final straw.

Elizabeth moved closer to Alex and put a protective arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry now. You're safe here. Jack won't let anything happen to you, and we'll all take good care of you."

******

When Alex awoke the next day, she momentarily wondered where she was, before remembering what had happened the day before. That man…Jack…had taken her aboard his ship…away from the circus. 

It was then that she noticed that the floor was not as stable as the night before. She took a look out the small porthole, and noticed the land shrinking into the distance, Port Collins and Basil's Travelling Circus along with it.

Noticing that her left hand was quite sore, she lifted it up to her face and inspected it. The knuckles were bruised and she couldn't open her hand fully. She wondered how Dickon's nose and nuts were. She smirked and hoped that she had caused him as much pain as he had caused her. 

She stood at the porthole for a while longer, lost in thought. Then, deciding that she should probably be doing some work to earn her way on the ship, Alex made her way topside to find Jack.

Alex emerged into the bright sunlight, briefly wondering how long she had slept. She blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust to the sunlight, before spotting Jack over at the wheel, steering the ship. She started to cross the deck, noticing that it was rather difficult to walk on the ship. She found herself swaying from side to side as she tried to get used the to the strange new feeling. Fortunately, her sense of balance was a lot better than her average person, due to all her tightrope walking, and she adjusted to the ship's erratic swaying quickly.

Reaching the helm, Alex looked up at Jack, who had been watching her progress across the deck with a slight smile on his face.

"Mornin', luv." Jack greeted. He briefly flicked his eyes to the sky, noting the position of the sun. "Or should I say afternoon?"

Alex raised an apologetic eyebrow. "I slept that long? Sorry…I didn't mean to."

"Nah, don't worry, luv. By the looks of ye last night, you really needed it."

"Well…I'm ready to work now. What do you want me to do?"

Jack looked around the deck of the ship, then spotted what he was looking for. "Anamaria!" he shouted, beckoning the dark-haired woman over to the helm.

"What, Cap'n?"

"This here's Alex. Show her the ropes. And take care o' her."

Anamaria looked Alex over with a critical eye before deciding that this girl was okay in her book. She started with a quick tour of the ship, naming the sections, explaining what everything did, and teaching her some basic knots.

"So, did you get all that?" Anamaria asked, as they finished up on the deck.

Alex nodded, slightly dazed. It was information overload, but she was pretty sure that she'd gotten most of it, without taking out a pen and paper and writing it all down.

"Don't worry if you can't remember it all. Mostly it's on the job learnin' anyways." She pulled put a length of rope and handed it to "Alex. "Here, practise the knots I taught ye until you can do then in yer sleep. They're very important to the running of the ship."

Alex made her way to the bow of the ship and sat on the railing with her legs dangling over the side, the piece of rope in her hands. She did one of the knots Anamaria had shown her, muttering the steps to herself as she knotted it. "Over…under…around…through."

She held up the knot to inspect it, but it fell apart. Tying knots was not her forte, she decided. She started tying it again, becoming too involved in her task to hear the footsteps coming up behind her.

"It should be looped here before you put it over." Jack said, pointing at the rope Alex was holding.

"Dammit Jack, don't sneak up on me like that!" Alex said, resting her hand over her heart, which was beating quickly with the surprise. She did as he said with the piece of rope and it formed a properly functional knot. A little messy, but it'd still work.

"Are you better today?" Jack asked. "Elizabeth told me what you told her. I'll tell you now that there'll be nothin' like that happenin' on the _Pearl_, savvy?"

"I've been better…but I've also been worse." Alex explained, looking down, deliberately avoiding Jack's gaze. "But thanks for the passage on your ship."

"Anyways, what I came to tell ye is that dinner's ready if yer hungry. Come on, I'll show you where it is."

Alex slipped off the railing and followed Jack down to the galley where the crew were gathered, chatting noisily as they collected their meal from the various pots and sat down at the long table.

Alex joined the end of the line, picking up a plate and a fork from the pile at the end of the table. Noticing a couple of dirty smudges on the plate, she wiped it clean with a corner of her shirt before putting food on it. Bypassing the first pot, as the contents didn't look too fresh, she scooped a couple of chunks of potato out of the second pot and some meaty stew out of the third one. She made her way to the table and squeezed in at the very end, seating herself on the long bench, trying to take up as little space as possible.

She picked up her fork and hesitantly tasted the food. It didn't taste so bad, and she'd definitely had a lot worse. Realising how hungry she actually was, having not eaten since lunchtime the day before, she finished her plate of food quickly, and joined the line for seconds.

******

Later that evening, when it was dark, the crew were given their free time. A lot of them gathered on deck, playing drinking games and card games. Alex sat on the railing on the side of the ship and watched the men playing drinking games, filling the small glasses with an amber liquid before swallowing it. The other men watching would let out a loud cheer when the alcohol was swallowed. Finally, one of the men slumped to one side and the crew let out a loud cheer, holding the other man's arm up as a sign of victory, before he too, collapsed on the deck, snoring loudly.

"Barbaric, isn't it?"

Alex turned and saw Elizabeth standing next to her. "Yes. There doesn't look to be much point to the game except to drink yourselves silly."

"Very true. And waste of rum too."

Alex turned and saw Jack standing casually on her other side, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, the other hand holding a bottle of the same amber liquid the other crew members were drinking. He offered the bottle to Alex.

"Wanna try some?"

Alex hesitantly took the bottle from Jack. She'd never had any good experience with drinking and drunken people. Especially drunken men. They were usually rather violent and caused a lot of trouble. She usually stayed away from alcohol, but she felt safe enough on the ship, so one sip shouldn't hurt. She lifted the bottle to her mouth, and glanced up at Jack, who was grinning at her uncertainty. She tipped the bottle back and poured a small amount of the liquid into her mouth and swallowed it. She pulled a face as it burned its way down her stomach, making her feel all hot inside and leaving a strange taste in her mouth. Coughing a couple of times, she handed the bottle back to Jack, who was grinning at her first encounter with rum.

"Thanks." She croaked out.

"Tastes better second time." He said, not taking the bottle back.

"Jack, you better not be trying to get her drunk." Elizabeth warned, waving her finger accusingly in Jack's face.

Jack put on his innocent face. "Now why would I wanna be doin' that?"

"I'm all right. I can handle my alcohol." Alex said, taking another sip of the rum. It didn't burn so much this time and just left her with a pleasant warm feeling inside. She handed the bottle back to Jack, who took it back this time and took a sip of his own.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed." Alex said, making her way down to her quarters.

~~~~~~

I actually went and tasted rum so I could write this bit…lol.

I'm going on a school camp for the next 5 days, so I'll update when I get back. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys think of this chapter.

Anyways, do what you would normally do here.

~Rhi


	3. Alex's Task

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High Flier

Chapter 3 - Alex's Task

~Pirate Rhi

Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter of High Flier. I've been at camp all week, and I'm completely wasted, but I'm posting another chapter for you because I know how much you've all been waiting for it…lol.

Thanks to all you people who read and reviewed and even to those who just read. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Anyways, without further ado, here's chapter 3…

~~~~~~

Alex was awoken with a start the next morning when she was thrown out of her hammock by the violent rocking of the ship. Rubbing her sore forehead, she struggled to her feet, wondering what the hell was going on. Glancing out the small porthole, she saw large, grey waves tossing the ship about. The sky was dark and covered with angry black clouds. Every now and then and flash of lightning would streak its way down from the clouds, followed closely by a rolling peal of thunder.

Bursting out of her room and racing up the stairs and onto the deck, Alex was greeted by pouring rain, soaking her in an instant. The ship bucked violently, and she was thrown to the side and slid down the deck a bit before she grabbed a hold of a nearby piece of rope.

The crew were running around, checking ropes and sails, holding onto various ropes and other fixed objects to prevent themselves from being washed overboard and down into the oblivion of Davy Jones' Locker. Jack was at the wheel, skillfully steering his way through the terrible storm. He was shouting orders to the crew over the roaring of the ocean.

"Drop the canvas!" he yelled.

The crew scurried around, untying the knots in the ropes skillfully, releasing the sails from their bonds. They rolled them up and stashed them in a safe compartment, safe from being washed overboard and into the water.

Alex watched the crew struggle to get the last sail down. It seemed to be tangled up with another rope high up on the mast. The sail was flapping wildly in the strong wind, and the crew were yelling amongst themselves as to the best way to get it down. About five of them were holding onto the rope, preventing it from getting blown away. None of the crew seemed too eager to scale the mast to untangle the ropes in a storm such as this.

Alex looked up at the mast and the rigging. It didn't look too difficult to climb. The mast was a lot different from a tightrope, and it'd be more slippery, but she was confident that she'd be able to cope with it.

Letting go of the rope she had been holding onto, she crossed the slippery deck as quickly as she could with the ship bucking violently beneath her. She reached the mast and quickly planned her route, then she started climbing quickly and gracefully. She was in her element once again.

******

Jack manned the wheel, keeping the ship steady. This storm was one of the worst they'd ever come across, and he was slightly worried about how his ship would pull through. He looked at the crew dealing with the sails. Five of them holding on to the rope for dear life, arguing amongst themselves about how they were going to get the sail down. They would have to get it down soon, he thought, because if they don't, we're not going to have a sail at all.

"Get on with it, you scurvy dogs!" he yelled at the top of his voice, in an effort to be heard over the noisy storm.

That was when he noticed the slight figure of Alex cross the deck, walking erratically to combat the rocking of the ship. She stopped at the mast and started climbing. He resisted the urge to run after her and stop her. He had the ship to take care of, he reminded himself. Reluctantly staying at the wheel to steer the ship, he resigned himself to intently watching her progress up the mast.

******

Alex's foot slipped on the wet mast for what seemed like the millionth time. Ignoring her racing heart and her own doubts, she pressed on, finally reaching the crossbar of the mast. She could feel the crew's eyes on her as she drew herself up to her full height on the slippery crossbar, pausing for a moment to catch her breath and adjust to the wider sways of the mast.

Deciding it was now or never, Alex put one tentative foot forward, then another, gradually adjusting to the different feel of the wooden crossbar. Her tightrope instincts came back with a rush and with that new confidence, she moved quickly across the beam to where the ropes were tangled up.

Alex sat down on the beam and hooked her legs around it as she used to on the trapeze, letting her body swing freely below underneath it. She stretched her arm out towards the knotted ropes, swiping past them a couple of times before she grasped them in her hand. She quickly unknotted the tangled ropes and let the sail drop to the deck where the crew quickly rolled it up and stowed it away with the other sails.

Relieved that the task was over, she swung herself back upright and brushed her wet hair from her eyes.

Quickly navigating the slick mast again, she soon found herself back on the deck, where she looped the loose end of a rope around her waist and waited out the rest of the storm.

******

Despite its ferocity, the storm was rather short-lived and burned itself out soon after it had begun. The skies cleared, shining a beautiful blue, the wind dropped and the seas became a crystalline blue once more. A rainbow curved high into the sky in the distance.

Alex watched in wonder at the sudden change of the weather. In fact, if it hadn't have been for her soaking wet clothes, it wouldn't have seemed like there was a storm at all.

Unlooping the rope from around her waist, Alex moved into the sunlight in an effort to dry out her clothes quickly. She wringed the water from her hair, dripping it onto the deck.

Jack left the wheel for the first time that day, leaving it under the guidance of Anamaria's steady hand, and approached Alex. "That was a very stupid thing, y'know?" he said, enunciating his speech with his hands. "But it was also a very brave thing. You've definitely got talent, luv."

"I never did mention what I did at the circus, did I?" Alex said. "Flying trapeze mostly, with a bit of tightrope and gymnastics thrown in to make things interesting."

Jack was about to say something, but was interrupted by a shout from the man on lookout up in the crow's nest.

"Captain! Ship ahoy!" he yelled, pointing out off the starboard side of the ship.

Jack turned and looked where the lookout was pointing, and sure enough, there was a ship sailing towards them, not too far off.

"What be the ship?" he yelled up to the lookout. "And how far off does she be?"

The lookout paused a second before yelling back "The _Emerald Dragon_. Looks like a Chinese merchant ship. We're gaining on her quickly. I'd say less than an hour!"

Jack put a finger to his lips as he thought of the treasure the ship would have, giving him a mischievous glint to his eyes. He winked at Alex, and strode back up to the helm, regaining the wheel off Anamaria.

"Ready yerselves, men! And prepare room for our booty! We've got ourselves a new challenge!"

The crew scurried about the ship, readying the ship and preparing themselves for the upcoming battle by collecting their swords and strapping small daggers to their belts.

Alex stood in the same spot, watching the crew rush about her. She didn't know what to do, so she thought it better to stay right there so she would not get in anyone's way.

"Alex!"

Alex turned around and saw Elizabeth's husband, Will, coming towards her.

"I think you should have this. A little self-protection, eh?" he said, handing her a small, but sharp dagger wrapped in a piece of cloth.

Alex took the dagger from Will and tucked it into the waistband of her pants. "Thanks." She said.

"You're welcome. You should get yourself inside, where it's safer. Liz is in our cabin, you can go in there if you want. Now I must go and see what Jack wants from me." Will hurried off to the helm, leaving Alex alone again.

Alex, deciding that she would much rather be inside, than stuck in the middle of things that she did not care for, made her way to Elizabeth and Will's quarters. She knocked quietly on the door.

"Come in." Elizabeth called from inside.

Alex opened the door and entered the nicely furnished room, closing the door behind her.

Elizabeth rose from the chair she was sitting in. "I'm so glad you came. I hate it when they do this. Not knowing how the battle's going is horrible. And the worst part is wondering if Will's okay."

"He'll be fine. I've seen him practising with his sword. He's very good. He can hold his own. And Jack will be there if he gets into trouble." Alex reassured her.

"I suppose so." Elizabeth said, sinking into her chair again.

******

Jack grinned as they quickly gained on the _Emerald Dragon_. He ran his hand along the wheel lovingly. His _Pearl_ was the greatest ship a Captain could hope for. His other hand was resting on the hilt of his sword, which was always at his waist. He kept his thoughts on the challenge ahead of him, planning ahead, as always. He didn't expect the ship to give him any grief, as it appeared to be a merchant ship, but you never know, there could be some idiot who fancied himself as a master swordsman, that could prove to be a pain in the arse.

He gave the wheel a slight adjustment, so that they'd come up alongside the merchant ship. His eyes flicked up to their Jolly Roger flag, flapping proudly in the wind. He grinned and started humming his favourite song.

"Captain! Captain!" the youngest crew member, River, yelled as he ran up to the helm. "Look!" he pointed towards the other ship's mast, where their own Jolly Roger flag was being hoisted.

Jack grinned at this latest development. "Interesting." He said, more to himself than anything else.

"What do you want us to do, Captain?" the boy asked, his eyes wide.

"We'll continue as planned." He said to the boy. "Ready yerselves, men!" he yelled to the crew.

The crew lined the sides of the ship, armed with their swords and other weapons of choice. A couple of men went down under to man the cannons. They all stood prepared, looking menacing with their hands resting on the hilts of their swords.

There was silence as the _Pearl_ pulled up alongside the _Emerald Dragon_. The crew of the _Dragon_ were also prepared for battle, refusing to give in easily.

Jack made his way down onto the deck, walking deliberately and firmly. He stopped in the middle and stepped up to the side of the deck, next to Will, in the gap reserved for him opposite the _Dragon's_ captain.

"Well, if it isn't the Mad Hatter himself." He stated. "Got yerself a new ship, I see."

"Aye, that I have." The man replied. "And I'll be wanting meself some swag to be fillin' these holds of mine."

"You should look at gettin' that swag elsewhere, because you ain't havin' any of mine."

"I'll be seeing about that." The man sneered. "Men, attack!"

The silence was suddenly invaded with the loud yelling of both crews of men. Grappling hooks were tossed through the air from both ships, and members of each crew swung to the opponent's ship, slashing away with their swords at the enemy.

Jack was immediately occupied with attacks from two of the _Dragon's_ men. Parrying their slashes, he fended each off until he got them in just the position he wanted them in. Quickly performing a complicated maneuver, he caused the two men to crash their heads into each other, hard. While they were dazed, he gave them each a push, sending them into the ocean with a large splash.

He had little time to be proud of his achievements, before he was attacked by the next man. He'd come to the conclusion that the _Dragon's_ crew wasn't very well trained. He was certain that his crew would come out on top, as they were all good swordsmen.

******

Elizabeth and Alex sat on the edges of their seats, literally. The sounds of the battle raging outside did not ease their worries one bit. Elizabeth, of course, was worried about how Will was faring, and Alex was spending most of the time assuring her that Will was doing fine.

They'd heard that the ship they originally thought was a merchant ship, was now a pirate ship, and that didn't ease the tension one bit.

Both women froze when footsteps slowly, but confidently echoed down the hall.

Elizabeth looked at Alex with wide eyes. Fear was written all over her face. "Who do you think that is?" she breathed, so quietly Alex could only just hear.

Alex looked back with equally wide eyes and shrugged. She quietly slipped the dagger out from under the waistband of her pants, removing the cloth covering. The dagger gleamed, reflecting the light shining in from the small window. She spied one of Will's swords in the corner of the room and pointed towards it.

Elizabeth, getting Alex's silent meaning, silently picked up the sword, gripping it tightly in her hands, causing her knuckles to go white.

The footsteps stopped outside their door, and the door handle turned. The door creaked open to reveal an ugly pirate, grinning menacingly at the two woman holed up in the small cabin.

"Well lookee what we 'ave 'ere." He growled, chuckling evilly at the looks of fright displayed on Alex and Elizabeth's faces. "Time to 'ave me some fun."

~~~~~~

Well, I hope you all enjoy this lovely little cliffhanger, I'm gonna go to the movies now and watch Once Upon a Time in Mexico now that it's FINALLY out here…I'm so excited. I'm even going on my own cuz none of my friends can come with me…I want to see it that much. It took me a while to convince my mum that I'd be okay going by myself…lol. Anyways, I've gotta go now…I've gotta find my car keys…they're somewhere in my messy room…

~Rhi


	4. Painful Challenges

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High Flier

Chapter 4 - Painful Challenges

~Pirate Rhi

Hey guys, I'm back with chapter the fourth of High Flier. Thanks to all those who reviewed. It's greatly appreciated. I've spent most of my week putting up photos from my camp on my website, so if you guys wanna see them, the link's in my bio. I also joined the writing club at school, so I've been writing original fiction as well. It's very different from fanfiction, I must say. I'm finding it very hard to make the stories short, I tend to ramble on a bit, much like what I'm doing now…

Lykosdracos - Thanks for all your reviews, mate, I love reading them, they always give me a laugh. And I'm very glad that you're loving my story. I love storms, but we don't get very spectacular ones over here, so I always write about storms.

Padfoots-Pirate - Sorry 'bout that, mate. I am dutifully updating so you shan't be kept in suspense for much longer. Hope you enjoy. There's no cliffie on this chapter, and I think that might be the only cliffie I've written so far, and I've done up to chapter 10…

~~~~~~

The foul-smelling pirate grinned as he advanced on Elizabeth, who backed away from him. He barked at her, enjoying the look of disgust on her face.

Elizabeth whipped Will's sword out from behind her back, brandishing it at the pirate. The pirate eyed her curiously.

"If you come any closer, I will not hesitate to use this." She said firmly, willing her voice not to shake.

The pirate made a strange noise in his throat. "I like that. Feisty women." He turned and spotted Alex.

Forgetting Elizabeth for the moment, he advanced on Alex in much the same fashion that he had done on Elizabeth. Alex backed away from him so that her back was against the wall. She had nowhere to go.

"What 'bout you? You up for a little…lovin'?" the pirate leaned closer, causing Alex to cough, because of his evil-smelling breath.

"If you come any closer, I will be forced to relieve you of the reason you call yourself a man." She hissed angrily, pressing the flat blade of her dagger into his upper thigh.

The pirate stepped back, out of the reach of her dagger, but did not lose the evil grin.

******

Will was kept busy out on the deck. The pirates they were fighting weren't very experienced swordsmen, but they were determined, and there were many of them.

He managed to push his present opponent overboard and wipe away the sweat that was dripping down his forehead before his next challenger came along.

He could see that their foes were losing faith, their captain had fallen, and he guessed that the crew didn't have any fight left in them.

As if his thoughts came true right then and there, the _Dragon's_ crew all suddenly surrendered.

The _Pearl's_ crew all looked a little surprised, but nevertheless, went to work relieving the _Emerald Dragon_ of its treasure. That task was quickly completed, then the surviving members of the _Dragon's_ crew were tied to the main mast and the ship sent adrift.

Jack came and stood next to Will as they watched the _Emerald Dragon_ sail away, holding a bottle of celebratory rum in his hand, and grinning widely.

******

Meanwhile, Alex and Elizabeth still were having problems. The pirate had stepped back, taking in the two women holding their weapons of choice. He reached down to his belt and pulled out a cutlass and a dagger, brandishing the weapons at the women, letting them know that he was the master now.

He lunged towards Elizabeth, who swung her sword up just in time, causing the swords to clash together, sending the metallic vibrations up her arm.

The pirate swung again, this time, swinging his sword so hard that he knocked Elizabeth's sword out of her hand.

Alex chose that moment to pounce on the pirate's back, wrapping her arms around his head so that he couldn't see. Distracted from his previous task, he concentrated on getting Alex off his back. Turning in wild circles, he managed to back Alex against the wall, crashing her against it. Her cry of pain encouraged him and he crashed into the wall again and again.

Alex, preoccupied with the pain and trying not to let go, didn't feel him slipping his dagger from his belt. The first she knew of it was a searing, sharp pain shooting up her arm. He had cut her all the way from her upper arm to just below her elbow.

Alex cried out in pain and dropped off his back. She curled up in a fetal position by the wall, protecting her arm, which was dripping massive amounts of blood.

She faintly heard Elizabeth scream for help, but everything seemed all fuzzy, except for the sharp pain shooting up her arm.

The door to the cabin was roughly shoved open and Jack and Will burst through the door.

Alex watched everything through eyes glazed over in pain. It was as if everything that was happening was in a dream, it was so surreal. She saw Jack pull out his sword and run it through the guts of the pirate so hard that the sword went all the way through him, a good distance of the sword sticking out of the pirate's back. Jack twisted the sword, then pulled it out of the pirate, grabbing the now in agony, but still alive pirate by the scruff of his neck and dragged him from the room.

Meanwhile, Will had pulled off his shirt and ripped it into strips, both him and Elizabeth pressing the cloth onto Alex's wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Alex's face contorted in pain. She bit into her lip so hard that it drew blood. Will saw this and pushed a piece of the cloth into her mouth so that she would bite on that and not her lip.

The door to the cabin burst open and Jack rushed into the room, having dealt with the pirate. He knelt on the floor next to Will and Alex, and his concerned face was the last thing Alex saw before she gave in to the blackness.

******

"I'll put her onto the bed. Help me out Jack." Will said.

"Take her to my cabin. The medical supplies are in there." Jack said, as Will rose with Alex's slight figure in his arms. Elizabeth rose with him, holding the makeshift bandages on Alex's arm.

They quickly made their way to Jack's cabin and lay Alex down on Jack's bed, where Elizabeth had to hold her still, because she was writhing about in pain.

Jack collected the medical supplies from a nearby drawer and handed them to Elizabeth, who went to work on Alex's arm, first disinfecting the wound with some alcohol, then wrapping it tightly, with a proper bandage.

Jack and Will stood by, watching Elizabeth's nimble hands working on the horrible wound. She finished wrapping the arm and secured the end of the bandage. Finally, she stood, wiping her bloody hands on a cleaner piece of a rag, which had once been Will's shirt. She dropped the rag on top of the small pile of blood-stained cloths.

"Are you going to stay with her?" Elizabeth asked, turning to Jack.

"Yeah, you guys can go." Jack said, pulling up a chair. "And Anamaria's steering the ship, so she'll be fine. I'll look after the lass here."

"Call if you need anything." Will said, then he and Elizabeth left the room, leaving Jack with the sleeping Alex.

******

Alex was back at the one place that she didn't want to be. The familiar shape of the huge circus tent cast a shadow over her, haunting her vision as her feet unwillingly shuffled towards the tent looming over her. Instead of the bright, colourful tent, it had turned black and was bulging with the bad memories that Alex called her past.

A familiar voice echoed through her dream. A voice that she would rather never hear again. It was calling her name…taunting her. "Alexandra…" Dickon's voice filled her mind. "You'll never be anything, so stop trying. You're a stupid, useless bitch, only good for one thing…" the voice started laughing, a horrible, evil laugh.

******

Jack had fallen asleep in the chair, his head resting on the table. He was suddenly awoken by the sounds of Alex thrashing around in her sleep. She was mumbling something about Dickon and it not being true. Her face was flushed a bright red.

He put his hand to her forehead, which was burning hot to the touch.

"Luv, yer burnin' up!" he said, leaving her side for a moment, where had dipped a clean cloth into a bucket of cold water. He wrung it out and placed it on her forehead, firmly holding it there until she stopped thrashing about.

Letting out a relieved breath, he dipped the cloth in cold water again and replaced it on her forehead before sitting back down in the chair, not taking his eyes off the sleeping girl.

******

Alex's dreams turned lighter as a silhouette of a man appeared and chased the dark tent and Dickon's horrible voice away.

The silhouette gained colour, and she realised the figure was Jack. He was standing, his hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword and he was grinning.

"Don't worry, luv. I got yer back now." His voice filled her dream, but it wasn't a dark presence, like Dickon's. His voice made her feel warm and comfortable instead.

Suddenly, everything faded and Alex could feel her mind start to wake up.

******

Alex opened her eyes and looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling. She started to push herself into a sitting position, but quickly stopped when a bolt of pain rushed up her arm. Jack was suddenly at her side, helping her into a sitting position.

Alex noticed the white bandage on her arm. She touched it gently with her other hand.

"What happened?" she asked. "And where am I?"

"That scalawag slit yer arm and you blacked out. Will brought you in here and Liz bandaged yer arm. You had a fever too, prob'ly from yer clothes, they were still wet. And yer in me humble abode."

Alex slowly took this information in. "How long was it out?" she asked.

"A few days." Jack answered.

A look of guilt came across Alex's face. "Sorry. I took your bed. I should get out of your cabin now." She began to get up, but Jack stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Stay there. Yer the injured one. You need yer rest." Jack said firmly.

"What about you? Did you sleep?" Alex asked, noting the tiredness in Jack's eyes.

"I had enough." He replied, when the reality was, he hadn't slept since she'd had the fever on the first day.

Alex thought for a second. She couldn't exactly deny the man his bed, but he wouldn't let her get up. There was only one solution to the problem, but she had a lot of bad memories with men and beds. But, she thought, he hadn't given her a reason not to trust him. Letting out a breath, Alex shuffled over as far as she could on the largish bed. She patted the space next to her. "Sleep here." She said.

After hesitating a moment to make sure she was okay with that, Jack moved himself from the chair to lying on the bed next to Alex, falling asleep almost instantly.

Alex didn't go to sleep for a while, instead she sat up, staring at Jack. The man was growing on her, and she was scared. She'd never allowed herself to get close to anyone anymore. It only caused trouble. She'd made that mistake once, and she'd vowed never to do it again. The way she saw it, the relationships you had with people could only be used against you, so she avoided knowing much more about a person than their name.

She sighed, this was a whole new experience. She wasn't at the circus anymore, she reminded herself. This man had seen her at her worst hour, and still he offered to take her aboard his ship. She shuffled down into the bed and shut her eyes, in an effort to stop the thoughts that were whirling around in her head. She tried thinking of other things in an effort to block the other thoughts from her mind. Finally she managed to calm her mind for long enough for her to slip off to sleep.

~~~~~~

Well, there you go. End of chapter four.

Hey, don't you think it's really stupid that Johnny Depp didn't get his Oscar. I really wanted him to win! I rushed home from school and went straight on the internet to find out who got what. I was so disappointed. Pirates of the Caribbean didn't get anything either! That really sucks. Well, at least there's the sequel to look forward to. Maybe it'll get some awards. Fingers crossed, eh? Lord of the Rings did real well, though. I'm very proud of it and what my little country did for it…=)

Oh, I loved Once Upon a Time in Mexico. I went on about it all week, and my friends are really jealous of me…lol.

Anyways, I've gotta go study for my chemistry and biology tests that are on Monday. Argh! I hate tests!

Later

~Rhi


	5. Star Gazer

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High Flier

Chapter 5 - Star Gazer

~Pirate Rhi

Sorry about the late update, mates, but after terrible, and sometimes physical, fights with my brother about internet usage, I haven't been able to get on for a while, because now that he's got his own computer, he's been on the internet all the time, so I don't get a chance anymore, but better late than never, eh?

Soccer's back on, too, so I might have to change the day I update on, but I will find time to do it, without making you wait too long.

Also, I forgot that I wrote a horrible cliffhanger into this chapter, BUT, I've turned it into a competition…more details at the end of the chapter.

And (last thing, I promise), for those who read my other story, Caribbean Crusades, I thought I'd let you know that I started writing a sequel, and I'll post it as soon as I get the storyline going, at the moment, it's only really the introduction, and I need to get the storyline straight before I write any more.

I quite enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading it…

~~~~~~

After lying in bed for four days straight, Alex was, understandably, sick of sleeping. The normally patient girl was finding her patience worn thin, as she was forever being denied permission to leave the room by her three tormentors. The view from the small, dirt-smeared window didn't change much with each passing day and she found herself longing to be free once again. She longed to feel the wind rushing through her hair and the kiss of the sun on her skin. She wanted to feel herself flying through the air once more. Her legs ached for some exercise.

Deciding that she'd had enough of the invalid treatment, she slipped her bare legs out from underneath the covers, letting them hang there for a second before standing on the wooden floor. She gave the room a quick glance, hoping to see her clothes somewhere, but she did not. She vaguely remembered Elizabeth helping her change into a nightgown and taking her clothes somewhere. To be washed, Alex presumed. They obviously hadn't been returned yet.

Getting an idea, Alex made her way to Jack's sea chest. He was bound to have extra clothes in there. She opened it and pulled out a white shirt and dark brown breeches. She hesitated a little before pulling off her nightgown and changing into the clothes. She felt a bit bad for not asking, but she couldn't exactly walk out onto the deck in her nightgown, could she.

There was one problem, Alex thought as she held up the pants with one hand. They were too big for her and would fall down if she weren't holding onto them. She rummaged about in the chest again, looking for some suspenders to hold them up. Finding that there was a lack of suspenders in the chest, Alex decided to improvise a belt with a strip of cloth, securely tying the cloth around her waist, keeping the pants in place. She pulled out another shorter strip of cloth and used it to tie her hair in a low ponytail, to keep it out of her face.

Pleased with her acquisitions, Alex made her way to the door of the cabin, pushing it open a crack and peering out to make sure the coast was clear, before pushing it open wide enough for her to slip through. She shot a look up at the helm, where Jack was proudly steering his ship. He hadn't noticed her exit from his cabin. Alex made her way down the ladder into the bowels of the ship. She was a woman on a mission.

Alex soon found what she was looking for. In one of the storage rooms, Will was alone, practising his sword fighting. She stood at the entrance of the room, unnoticed, watching his movements. It wasn't until he had finished a routine, that he saw her. He dropped the hand holding his sword to his side and stepped towards Alex.

"Alex. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in bed." Will said.

"I got bored. 'Sides, I need a favour." Alex said, putting her left hand on her hip.

Will raised a questioning eyebrow. "Yeah, what's that?"

"I need you to teach me how to fight. If I'm going to be staying on this ship, I'm gonna need to know how to protect myself."

"Alex! You're still injured. I can't teach you to fight with your arm like that. You could re-injure yourself. Not to mention what Elizabeth would do to me if she found out. At least wait until your arm's better." Will said, giving Alex an incredulous look, indicating to her arm wrapped in bandages.

"I can't wait any longer. And no one's going to find out. I won't tell anyone if you don't. 'Sides, I'm not right-handed, so that won't be a problem." Alex said, giving Will a pleading look.

Will paused for a moment, mulling it over. He sighed. "All right. If you must." He said. "But you're going to take it easy." He gave me a warning look. "No strenuous moves until your arm's better."

A large smile played on Alex's face, which suddenly lit up. "Thank you Will!"

Will's brow furrowed curiously as he regarded Alex's clothing. "Are you wearing Jack's clothes?" 

******

Late that night, Alex found herself leaning on the railing at the bow of the ship. She had enjoyed an eventful day, starting with the sword fighting lessons Will had given her. To her surprise, she had actually enjoyed it, and savoured the exercise. Will had proved to be an excellent teacher. Patient and kind, he showed her the correct hand position for holding the sword, and some basic moves, defensive and offensive. She had absorbed the lesson in quickly, storing it in her mind for future reference.

Alex turned her gaze to the inky black sky, dotted with stars and a bright half moon. The night sky always reminded her of her childhood. She faintly remembered going out into the fields every night, with her mother, father and brother. It was a nightly ritual. They'd done it for as long as she could remember. Her father would point out the stars and give their names. Orion's Belt. Big Dipper. Little Bear. Her mother would hold her and her brother close, keeping them warm in the cool night air, listening to her father's deep voice telling stories of how the stars came to be.

Her memories broke away when she heard footsteps come up behind her. Alex turned to see Jack coming towards her, holding two mugs of drink. He handed one of the drinks to Alex, who took it, cradling it with both hands.

"Thank you." She said, returning her gaze to the sky. Her eyes searched out the star that she'd always known as 'her star'. She soon saw it, and found comfort in it.

"Do you know about the stars, Jack?" Alex asked, breaking the silence.

"I know how to tell north from them." Jack replied, looking up at the sky.

"No, I mean, do you _know_ the stars. Do you know their names and how they came to be?" Alex asked. She turned and looked at Jack. "Do you know the tales of the stars?"

"No." Jack admitted. "I don't."

"Then I will tell you what my father told me." Alex said, beginning her favourite story. The one of her star.

******

Jack listened in silence as Alex told her story in a soft voice. As far as he knew, it was the first she had shared of her past. She was such a private person. He didn't know anyone else who was like that, so she intrigued him. She told the story with such passion that it was almost like she was reliving the memory. Which, he decided, she probably was.

He felt Alex shiver a little in the cold night air. He automatically put an arm around her and pulled her close to him to share his body heat. He felt her tense a little, but then relax as she got used to the closeness, as she continued with her story.

The story soon finished with the birthing of a new star. My star, Alex had explained.

"My father gave me and my brother a star of our own." Alex said, pointing out her star. "That one there's my star." She pointed to the sky slightly above and to the right of her star. "And that was where my brother's one was. It was extinguished when he died." She added in a small voice.

Jack pulled Alex tighter into him, letting her know that he was there for her. They stood in silence for a while.

"Do you have a star?" she asked after a while.

"No." Jack answered.

"Would you like a star?"

"I would like that."

Alex scanned the sky with her eyes for a short moment before extending her arm and pointing to a star near hers.

"That one there. That one can be your star." She said. "Jack's star."

"Jack's star." Jack repeated softly after Alex. "My star."

******

Alex wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel, as her lungs struggled to get enough oxygen.

"That's very good, Alex. You're learning quickly." Will encouraged. He picked up his own sword, holding it in a defensive position. "Now try against me."

Alex held up her own sword, clashing it against Will's several times, using the techniques that he had taught her. It was only her third lesson, but she had always picked things up quickly, and sword fighting was no exception. Will had been surprised at his student's quick study, but had adapted his lessons to give her a wider range of techniques in a shorter time. However, Alex did have limited movement due to her injured arm, and she had to use her left hand to hold her sword in. This did not bother Will so much, as he used the opportunity to strengthen his left-handed fighting.

Time always went quickly during their practises, and they soon had to finish the lesson and get back up on deck, for whatever chores were sent their way. Alex had recently been given the task of helping out the cook with meals, because she couldn't do much else, even though she tried. Because of this, most of her time was her own, and she could do whatever she liked.

Handing her sword back to Will, and thanking him, Alex left the storage room and made her way to the galley, where she would help the cook with the lunch.

******

"I don't understand what you're doing to it." Elizabeth said, exasperated as she unwrapped the bandage on Alex's arm. "It shouldn't keep on coming loose like this. And look at this. The wound has opened again. What on earth have you been doing to it?"

Alex peered down at the wound. It looked rather horrible. A thick angry red line snaked its way down her arm. It didn't hurt much anymore, but she knew that she would always have a scar. She shrugged as Elizabeth dabbed at the blood with cotton wool. "I dunno."

Elizabeth shook her head and started to wrap her arm up again.

"Do I have to have it bandaged still? I'm sick of having it on." Alex asked hopefully. She had always hated having bandages and the like.

"If you're careful." Elizabeth said, giving Alex a warning look.

Alex smiled sheepishly at Elizabeth. "Sure, Liz."

It was then that the door opened and Jack sauntered into the room.

"We'll be dockin' at Port Anderson by nightfall." He informed us. "I'll be needin' both of ye to go ashore and get the supplies for me. We'll be stayin' overnight."

"Sure Jack." Elizabeth said.

Jack handed Elizabeth a piece of paper with a list of supplies that they had to get, along with a handful of gold coins in a small purse.

"Don't spend it all in one place." Jack said with a grin.

Elizabeth smiled back. "I know how you like a bargain, Jack." She said.

"Absolutely. Now if ye'll be excusin' me, I am needed at the wheel." Jack said, winking at the two women before exiting the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

******

The sun was setting by the time they docked in the harbour of Port Anderson, painting the horizon with a spectacular picture of reds, purples and blues, promising good weather for the following day.

They had anchored the Pearl quite far out in the harbour in case they needed a quick escape, and they had to row themselves ashore in the small dinghies.

When they reached the pier, Alex climbed out of the dinghy, followed closely by Elizabeth. Alex was holding the list of supplies in her hand, covered with Jack's surprisingly neat handwriting, and the occasional ink blot, while Elizabeth was entrusted to the small purse, which she was clutching tightly.

Will had opted to stay aboard the _Pearl_, as all the other members of the crew had wanted to go ashore in search of a good drink, and for some, pleasurable company. Jack was off in search of a tavern and a good drink of rum, as per usual.

Elizabeth and Alex did the rounds of the shops quickly, bargaining prices, and organising for the goods to be brought down to the docks early the next morning.

Having completed their task quickly, they wandered the streets in search of one of the less seedy bars, where they could have a drink in peace, without getting disturbed by a drunkard or a slimy old man mistaking them for whores.

They walked up the dimly lit streets, making idle conversation as they did so. But it was when they rounded the bend in the street, into a darker, and less traveled bit of the street that the trouble began.

A shadowy figure stepped out in front of them, blocking their way.

"Alexandra. We meet again." The figure said, his menacing voice cutting through the dark night like a knife, instilling fear in the two women.

~~~~~~

Righto, mates, here's the competition. It's a really, really easy one, but, you have to guess who the 'figure' is. There's only a couple of people who it could be. Just put your answer, and your email (for reasons you'll see below) in a review, and I'll give out a prize to the winning person(s). The prize will be…dun, dun, dun…a portion of the next chapter sent to you early. Sound good? Entry's free, so hop to it.


	6. Useful Tricks

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High Flier

Chapter 6 - Useful Tricks

~Pirate Rhi

Congrats to all those who guessed right, you should've received your emails with the first part of this chapter yesterday, and as promised, I'm updating today.

Padfoots Pirate - You definitely covered a lot of ground with your guesses…

Matrixie - Barney was a good guess, I mean don't ya think that he'd be the kind of guy…uh…dinosaur that'd wanna do something like that. Heh heh…

Bitten by the kitten - love yer name…anyways, here ya go. I'm continuing.

Just clarifying something that I may not have made clear in the last chapter, Dickon hadn't been following them, he just happened to be in the same town as them, and decided to use it to his advantage. I know, it's a big co-incidence, but I'm the author, and if I say it is, it is…heh heh…I love the power of being an author =)

~~~~~~

Alex froze. It couldn't be. No, she just wouldn't believe it. It just couldn't be true. That part of her life was over. She squeezed her eyes shut, and opened them again, hoping that it was just an illusion. But it was not.

"Ah, I see that you haven't forgotten me then." The person said.

"No, Dickon. Unfortunately your ugly face shall forever be burned into my memory." Alex snapped. "What do you want?"

"I think you know what I want. What I've always wanted from you." Dickon stepped forward, out of the shadows. His face was twisted into a menacing scowl.

"Liz." Alex said, not taking her eyes off Dickon. "I want you go to. Go back to the _Pearl_. Now."

The urgency in Alex's voice worried Elizabeth, but she didn't want to leave her friend with the man who almost raped her once, and was likely to actually do it now that he had a second chance.

"Liz. I'll be fine. Go. _Now_."

******

Elizabeth reluctantly turned and ran from the alleyway, but she was not going back to the _Pearl_. She ran back down the path they'd taken, trying to remember which tavern the crew had gone into.

It was pure luck that she picked the right tavern on her first try.

Entering the small tavern, she immediately spotted the familiar tricorn hat adorning the head of Captain Jack Sparrow in the corner of the tavern.

Elizabeth scrambled through the tavern, dodging drunk patrons and overturned chairs as fast as she could.

"Jack! Jack!" she called as she got closer to the corner.

Jack looked up and put down his mug of rum, sensing the urgency in Elizabeth's voice.

"What is it?" he asked. "Where's Alex?"

Elizabeth reached the table and doubled over, resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"It's Alex." She said. "And Dickon. He's got her. Jack…I think he's really going to do it this time if we don't help her."

Jack stood up in a hurry, knocking his chair over.

"Show me where they are." He said.

Elizabeth took off through the tavern again and in Alex's direction, with Jack hot on her heels.

******

"That was very stupid, running away." Dickon said as he advanced another step towards Alex, who refused to let herself be scared of Dickon anymore.

"I did what I had to do." she hissed at him.

"So you did. But it didn't put ol' Basil in a very good mood. Me neither. I was missing my little…toy." He leaned towards Alex, causing her to unwillingly smell his foul breath.

"You will maintain your distance." Alex said, pulling out her dagger and placing the flat of the blade against Dickon's upper thigh as she had done to the pirate that had threatened her so many days before.

Dickon just laughed. A horrible sound that filled the night air. Alex's hand trembled slightly at the sound. She didn't know why he was laughing.

Her questions were soon answered, when her dagger was suddenly wrenched out of her hand and the blade was pushed lightly against her neck before she even realised what was happening.

Alex made a small gasp of surprise, which spurred Dickon on. He pushed her against the wall, still holding the dagger in place.

"No biting this time if you know what's good for you." Dickon said, pushing a little harder on the dagger as a warning.

Alex's eyes were wide and fearful as Dickon leaned forward, but he never reached her, as all of a sudden, he wasn't there anymore. He was on the ground with a hand over his eye and cheek. He was glaring angrily at Alex's rescuer.

"Jack!" Alex exclaimed as she jumped from her position squashed against the wall to taking her place next to Jack.

"'Tis not polite to take a girl when she does not want it." Jack warned Dickon. "'Specially this girl. She's mine, savvy?" at that, he put an arm around Alex's waist, pulling her towards him for good measure.

By then, Dickon had made it to his feet once again and was giving Jack a look that could kill.

"What do you want her for? She's good for nothing. She'll never be good at anything. She's a stupid, useless bitch, only good for one thing." Dickon growled.

Alex tensed as she was reminded of her dream so many nights ago, the one that she'd tried to push to the back of her mind, but it came back to her, at full force.

Jack, sensing her troubles, squeezed her hand, reassuring her.

"That she ain't. She be a good pirate and one of me crew." Jack said, giving Dickon a nasty glare. "And you will mess with her no more or else you will have Captain Jack Sparrow to deal with, savvy?"

Dickon's glaring expression did not change as Jack and Alex turned to leave. Instead, as soon as they'd turned their backs, he launched himself at Alex, still clutching her dagger in his hand.

Jack, however, was expecting something of the sort, and pulled his sword in the blink of an eye and swiped at Dickon, slashing his forearm.

Dickon stopped in what seemed like mid air and cradled his arm protectively.

"I'll get you, Sparrow. Watch your back." Dickon growled, his voice laced with pain.

"That's Captain Sparrow to you." Jack called over his shoulder as he led Alex from the alleyway.

******

"Ye alright, luv? He didn't hurt ye, did he?" Jack asked, when they were far enough away from Dickon. He hadn't taken his arm from around Alex, and she welcomed the comfort and security that he gave her.

"I'm find now. Thank you Jack." Alex said, looking up at Jack.

"Yer welcome, luv." Jack said, catching her gaze with his own. The world seemed to stop as they maintained eye contact. Alex found herself being pulled towards Jack by some invisible force.

"Alex!"

The shout of her name snapped Alex out of her trance and she looked over to see Elizabeth running towards her.

"Thank God you're okay!" Elizabeth said, enveloping Alex in a tight hug.

Alex endured this for a moment, until all the breath was squeezed out of her.

"Uh, Liz…breathing's becoming an issue." Alex said.

Elizabeth let Alex go and smiled at her sheepishly.

"Come on, luv. We should get ye back to the _Pearl_." Jack said.

Alex nodded. "Okay."

******

The three of them made their way back down to the docks, where Jack untied a dinghy, and held it in place while Elizabeth climbed in.

Alex glanced up the dock, still slightly jumpy after her earlier encounter. It was then that she noticed a whole bunch of redcoats coming down the hill to the docks at quite a speed. And they definitely looked like they were on a mission, so to speak.

"Jack." Alex said, getting Jack's attention. She motioned towards the redcoats. "I think we might have trouble coming."

Jack dropped the rope connected to the dinghy and turned to face the soldiers, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, and the other resting casually by his side.

The half a dozen redcoats stopped on the docks in front of Jack and Alex, leaving them no escape except for jumping into the dark water below.

"Are you Jack Sparrow?" one of the redcoats at the front asked. They guessed he was the superior officer.

"Well that would depend on who's asking. And that would be _Captain_ Jack Sparrow to you." Jack replied smartly.

"Well then, _Captain_ Jack Sparrow, we are under orders to immediately place you and one Alexandra Hawke under arrest for engaging in piracy, among other things."

"Hold on a minute. Elaborate on 'among other things'." Jack cut in.

"Harassing and threatening a respectable citizen. Also violently attacking said citizen, as well as other innocents."

"Wait!" Alex protested as they handcuffed her and Jack. "That's a lie! Jack was only protecting me! That 'respectable citizen' was trying to bloody rape me!"

"A pirate is incapable of telling the truth at the best of times, Miss Hawke, why should we believe you now." The officer said. He turned to the other redcoats who had a firm hold on Alex and Jack. "Take them away."

Alex was prodded in the back with the end of a rifle and she started walking down the docks. As they reached the bottom of the hill, she passed by a horribly grinning Dickon, who was still holding his injured arm.

Disgusted at the sight of the man who she had hated for so long, Alex spat at his feet as she passed him.

"I told you I'd get you back." He said, widening his horrible grin. "And get you back I did. You don't mess with Dickon."

******

Elizabeth had listened to the conversation between Alex, Jack and the redcoats from down in the water. When Alex had commented about trouble coming and Jack had dropped the rope, she had let the boat float under the dock so she hadn't been seen. It didn't sound like she was wanted anyway, but you couldn't be too careful when it came to being accused of piracy.

This was definitely one action-packed evening, she thought, sighing as she picked up the oars and started rowing towards the _Pearl_, once the redcoats had gone. Will had broken Jack out of jail once before, surely he would have some ideas about how to do it again.

******

Alex was led down the narrow staircase into the jail, squished in between the guards on each side of her. The guard unlocked the jail cell and Jack was roughly thrown onto the hard stone ground, followed closely by Alex.

The door clanged shut behind them and the lock was turned with a loud thunk.

"That'll do until the Cap'n decides what to do with 'em." One of the redcoats commented to another as they exited up the stairs and closed the top door with a loud clang, which echoed through the small jail. There was only one guard left down there, and he looked like he was half-asleep anyway.

Alex balled her hand in a fist and hit the ground repeatedly. "It was Dickon who did this. That bloody creep. I should've known he'd do something like this. He takes his threats seriously."

Jack put his hand over Alex's so she'd stop bashing the stone floor. "Don't worry, luv. We'll get out of here. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?"

"Savvy." Alex answered, almost in a whisper. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a large brass key that she'd lifted off the guard as she'd been forced down the stairs. "It would also help if you had this."

Jack looked surprised. "How did ye get that?"

Alex gave him a knowing grin before stuffing the key back into her pocket so the guard wouldn't see it if he happened to wake. "You'd be surprised at the stuff you pick up at the circus."

Jack gave an approving nod before leaning back against the wall. "Now we wait until the opportune moment."

Alex nodded as she followed suit, leaning back against the wall next to Jack. He put an arm around her, and she soon dropped off to sleep, tired after the many events of the evening.

~~~~~~

Cuz I got nothing else to say here, I'm gonna do some shameless self promoting…go visit my website…it's pretty random, but I need more ppl to visit my page so I can win the competition with my friends…heh heh…

The site is www . geocities . com / rhiriakikinixy and if that doesn't show up, the link's also in my bio. Go to the link that says Rhi's Page…oh, and sign my guest book, kay?

Laterz

~Rhi


	7. Confusion

****

High Flier

Chapter 7 - Confusion

~Pirate Rhi

Hey guys. Thanks for all the lovely reviews you've been giving me. I really appreciate it. We're getting quite far through the bits that I've already written now, and I'm gonna have to start writing again. But before I do, I have a question to ask you guys. I was debating with myself about writing a lemony scene, and I wasn't sure whether I should or not, so I'll leave it up to you guys…do you want me to up the rating and write a lemon scene or shall I make a toned down one. Or I could write two versions and post two chapters, one with the lemon and one censored. I don't mind which way. Majority vote wins, so get back to me with your answers ASAP.

~~~~~~

Alex was awoken late that night by Jack gently shaking her. It was dead quiet in the cell, except for the soft snoring of the guard sitting in the far corner. The cell was dimly lit by the light of the full moon shining in through the small window.

"Now's the opportune moment." Jack whispered.

Alex nodded as she rubbed her eyes in an effort to wake herself up fully. She pulled the key from her pocket and handed it to Jack, who made his way over to the door of the cell and inserted the key in the lock. Alex watched as Jack was slowly trying to turn the lock as quietly as he could.

The thunk it made as it turned seemed deafening to them as it echoed dangerously around the small jail. Jack pulled the key out of the lock and sat back down in the cell, holding the door closed with his foot, in case the guard happened to wake up in the midst of their escape.

They had no such troubles, however, as the guard continued to snore rhythmically.

"Come on, luv." Jack said, motioning for Alex to follow him as he quietly pushed the door to the cell open, hoping it wouldn't squeak.

Luck seemed to be on their side for once, because not only did the door not squeak, they made it out of the jail without any problems or anyone seeing them.

Silently congratulating themselves, they stuck to the shadows as they made their way back down to the docks.

It was at the docks that Jack and Alex ran into Will and Elizabeth coming the other way, who looked very surprised to see their two supposedly imprisoned friends walking - well in Jack's case swaying - freely down the dock without a care in the world.

"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked.

"Seems like Alex here has quite the light-fingered touch." Jack explained. "She lifted the key off the guard."

Will gave Alex an approving look. "Well, you've put me out of a job now." He said. "Normally I'm the one who springs Jack from jail."

Alex smiled shyly at the attention. "It was nothing, really." She said. "Shall we go now?"

"My thoughts exactly." Jack agreed.

******

They made it back to the _Pearl_ quickly and set sail immediately. Before setting out on their rescue mission, Will and Elizabeth had gone around all the inns and taverns in the small port town, rounding up the crew of the _Pearl_ in case there was a need for a quick escape, because in Jack's case, there usually was.

Fortunately there was no trouble and they sailed out of the harbour without a hitch, into the open ocean once again.

The only problem was, they were still short on supplies. They had arranged for a majority of the supplies to be brought in the morning, so quite a bit of money had been wasted on nothing.

Jack took this problem into account and calculated that they would have enough supplies to reach Tortuga, in a few days time. He set a course for his favourite port-of-call and turned the wheel over to Gibbs, and made his way to his cabin to retire for the night.

******

Alex turned over for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. She couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried. Every time she closed her eyes, images of an evilly grinning Dickon would plague her vision, and since she was alone in the small, dark room, the shadows seemed to come alive and grow larger, intending to engulf her in blackness. She craved security and comfort and she was not getting either in the dark room she was stuck in.

She knew exactly where the security and comfort she craved was, though. She longed to leave her haunted visions and find it, but she was afraid of the consequences. If she let herself trust again, there was no telling what would happen.

Putting her thoughts and misgivings aside, Alex slipped awkwardly out of her hammock, running her hand through her hair in exasperation, before deciding to leave the room behind.

******

Quietly padding barefoot on the wooden floors of the _Pearl_, Alex made her way up to Jack's cabin.

She put her hand up to the door and hesitated a second before knocking.

There was a pause before she heard some muffled grumbling and footsteps cross the room and the door opened to reveal a very sleepy looking, very shirtless Jack.

His face plainly showed his surprise when he saw Alex standing at his door.

"Luv. What d'ya want?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Uhh…Jack…do you mind if I sleep here tonight?" Alex asked. "I don't want to be alone." She added softly.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Jack said, standing to the side so Alex could enter his cabin. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Just memories plaguing me. I just need some company." Alex said. "I couldn't sleep."

Jack sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the space next to him. "Come and rest here then."

Alex took up his offer and sat next to him on the bed.

"Now ye close yer eyes and lie down." Jack prompted.

Alex did as she was told, lying back on the bed, on her side, resting her head on the soft pillow.

"That's it." Jack said, putting an arm around Alex's waist and pulled her close, giving her the comfort and security she desired.

"Thank you Jack." She mumbled, before dropping off to sleep.

******

Alex woke the next morning to Jack slipping out of the bed. No light shone through the grimy window, telling her it was still nighttime.

"What's going on?" Alex asked sleepily.

"Nothin'." Jack answered. "I woke early." He paused, getting an idea. "But since yer up, there's somethin' I wanna show you. Come."

Alex slipped out of the bed and followed Jack out of his cabin and to the bow of the ship, looking out towards the east.

She guessed it was almost morning, as the usually inky black sky had lightened to an almost navy blue, sparsely dotted with the lingering stars. The moon was sinking low into the western horizon.

Alex stood at the bow and tucked her arms around herself, in an effort to keep warm in the still chilly night air. "What are we looking for?" she asked.

Jack came and stood behind Alex, looking out at the horizon over her shoulder. "You'll see in a minute." He said.

Alex felt her body involuntarily shiver when Jack spoke, his breath tickling her ear. What the hell is happening to me, she wondered.

Jack felt Alex's shiver. "Cold?" he asked.

"Yeah." Alex said, a little too quickly. "A little."

Jack wrapped his arms around Alex, sharing his body heat with her as they stood there in silence. They watched as the eastern horizon burst into life, the bright light of the sun chasing away the dark night sky, sending the stars to bed. The yellows, reds and blues merging with the darkness of the night sky, changing every second. It was even better than an artist's painting. It continued, constantly changing until the sun peeked over the horizon as a sign of a new day, chasing away the darkness of the night, giving light to the world.

"It's beautiful." Alex breathed, not wanting to take her eyes off the sunrise, although she knew that she would have to soon. She turned in Jack's arms and looked into his dark chocolate brown eyes, something that she would describe just as meaningful and as beautiful as the sunrise. "Thank you Jack."

"No worries, luv." He replied.

Alex found Jack's eyes as difficult to look away from as she did the sunrise. She felt a pull stronger than she'd ever felt before. Stronger than the one she'd felt at Port Anderson after Jack had rescued her. Her doubts and reason went out the window for the moment, as she leaned in for the most passionate kiss she'd ever had. If she had to describe it, Alex would have called it magical, for there was no other word to describe how it felt. She felt as if she was floating on clouds, flying through the air, just being free.

They both had to eventually surface for air, and both took deep breaths. Jack was grinning in his usual fashion at Alex, and she felt herself smile back at him, although the rest of her body was still in shock.

Then, suddenly, as if realisation had dawned on Alex, she found herself slipping from Jack's arms and muttering a quick excuse, before hurrying off somewhere, leaving Jack standing at the bow, very confused.

******

Jack didn't move from the bow for a while, wondering what the hell had happened. That girl was the most confusing person he knew, apart from Anamaria, but that was beside the point.

He found himself totally enthralled by the girl, and, of course, attracted to her, although he tried to curb that attraction by reminding himself of what she'd been through. He wasn't one for commitment, and if that's what she was looking for, she would be out of luck.

But, he reminded himself, she hasn't mentioned anything of the sort. In fact, she never mentions anything on her own accord.

Jack tried to run his hand through his hair, but it got snagged on a matted dreadlock and had to untangle it.

He couldn't deny that the girl enticed him, but she was not some whore that he could take any time he wished. That was one of the reasons why he had to get out of that bed early that morning. He found that he couldn't sleep with Alex in bed next to him.

Deciding that he'd better get to the helm and relieve Gibbs of the night duty, Jack left the bow, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind. He needed to remain professional about this. At least until he had a better idea of what he was up against.

******

Alex threw herself into the task of making the morning meal for the crew out of the meagre supplies they had left. They had to carefully ration the food so it would last until they docked at Tortuga, but the cook wasn't so sure it would stretch that far.

The normally talkative cook was grumbling about something or another over the other side of the galley, as he mixed things together, trying to make an edible meal, leaving Alex to her own thoughts, which she had learned to dread.

She couldn't get her mind off Jack, and especially that kiss earlier that morning. She didn't know how she felt. It was a mixture of happiness and dread. Happiness, because she might have found someone she could really trust and love. Dread, because of her past and what had already happened when she had associated those two words with a man.

She couldn't deny the attraction she had for the roguish pirate, but she was scared as to how far it went. Was it a simple sexual attraction, or was it something more. She knew she felt something for him, but couldn't put a name to it.

She was confused and hated herself for it.

******

The _Black Pearl_ sighted Tortuga 3 days later.

Alex had spent most of the time avoiding Jack. She hadn't returned to sleep in his cabin, and instead, braved her thoughts and fears in her own dark quarters.

As a result of all her time spent alone with her thoughts, Alex had now decided what she was going to do. Granted, she didn't much like her decision, but it had to be done. She didn't see what else she could do to avoid anyone getting hurt again.

She found herself watching Jack from afar, across the deck when she was doing small odd jobs. She could tell that he was confused by her behaviour, but she didn't know how to explain it to him, so she didn't. She didn't want to hurt him, but she had let this go too far and she wanted to get out. She had to get out.

The tension between Alex and Jack had not gone unnoticed by others, however. Elizabeth had noticed Alex and Jack's strange behaviour a couple of days before, and had made up her mind to confront Alex and ask her what the deal was. And now seemed the perfect time.

"Alex." Elizabeth called, walking up to Alex, who was coiling unused ropes on the deck.

"Yeah?" Alex said, twisting the end of the rope around the coil and stashing it in the storage bins.

"I need to talk with you for a second. Come."

Elizabeth brought Alex into her quarters and sat her down on a chair.

Alex looked around nervously, feeling like this was an interrogation, which it most probably was, knowing Elizabeth.

"What's been going on with you lately?" Elizabeth asked. "For the last couple of days you've been acting really weird. And Jack too, for that matter. What happened?"

Alex sighed, Elizabeth was way too perceptive for her own good, or anyone else's good for that matter. "It's complicated." She answered.

When Elizabeth didn't answer, Alex went on. "I don't know what's happening. I'm feeling all this stuff and I have no idea what to do." She paused. "Last time I supposedly fell in love with somebody, he was just using me." She paused again, then added in a whisper, "He killed my brother."

Alex could see the look of sympathy on Elizabeth's face, and spoke again before Elizabeth had a chance to. "It's all in the past now, and I can't do nothin' to change it, I know, but I can stop it from happening again." She looked down. "This is why I've decided to stay in Tortuga."

~~~~~~

Dum, dum, dum! Heh heh, I can tell that Alex's decision is going to frustrate the hell out of all you guys…but don't worry, I have everything planned out…you'll see.

See you in the next chapter…

~Rhi =)


	8. The Lucky Chicken

****

High Flier

Chapter 8 - The Lucky Chicken

~Pirate Rhi

Song for this chapter: Here Without You ~ Three Doors Down (one of my all-time fave songs)

At school today, the teachers at my school dressed up as famous characters from books and movies and one of the teachers dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow. As the official photographer for the event, I made sure that I took a lot of pictures of him, as he looked very authentic. Even had the hair and all. I got a picture of him holding me hostage. Pics will be posted on my website if you guys wanna see them. The link's on my bio page.

Wow, 14 reviews for this chapter. Thanks so much, guys.

Lykosdracos - thanks for your vote of confidence.

Queen of the Caribbean - Ah, I remember when my dog was a puppy. Almost as bad as a newborn baby, I'd say. Try giving your puppy a hot water bottle and a clock (I know this sounds stupid but it works). The hot water bottle is like the mother's body heat and the clock is like the mother's heartbeat.

ChaosLightning13 - Thanks. Jack is a VERY hard character to write as I'm sure anyone who's ever written Jack would know. I try my best to keep him in character and I'm glad you think it's very Jack-like.

Padfoots-Pirate - Ah, a lemon lover, I see. I completely know how you feel…heh heh.

Okay, final decision on the lemon thing…I think that I'll write two chapters, one with the lemon and one without. I'll put the censored one first, and then the lemon one. Both of them will be the same except for the lemon scene. They will be clearly labeled to save confusion and unnecessary yelling at the author. It will most likely be in either chapter 10 or 11, depending on how much I write in chapter 10.

Okay, I think that's me done now…I'll leave you to read the chapter.

~~~~~~

As the crew of the _Black Pearl_ prepared to go ashore into Tortuga, Alex stood nervously to the side of the ship, clutching her meagre belongings in one hand.

Elizabeth was the only person who knew about her leaving the _Pearl_, and she had asked her to be the one to tell Jack. Elizabeth had protested at this, saying it wasn't right, but had given in to her request in the end and had agreed to do it.

"Right, you scalawags. Be back here at dawn tomorrow. If you're late, we leave without you." Jack informed the crew as they were loading themselves into the dinghies, preparing to row to shore.

Alex found herself loaded into the same dinghy as Elizabeth, Will and Jack. She couldn't help but wonder if this would be the last time she'd look at the three people that had made a huge difference to her life.

They docked and climbed out of the boat and Jack sauntered down the dock proudly. "Ah, Tortuga. I missed your proliferous bouquet. Come on Will, mate. Let's get us a drink." He looked over his shoulder and winked at the two girls as he led Will off to his favourite bar to get a mug of rum.

When they were out of earshot, Elizabeth turned to Alex. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" she asked again.

Alex nodded. "There's no turning back now. I've made my bed and now I have to lie in it, so they say."

"Yes. But it is also said that once you've dug yourself into a hole, you should stop digging while you're still able to get out." Elizabeth said, desperately trying to get Alex to change her mind.

"I'm not going back, Liz. I'd rather live my life lonely and loveless, than to go through it all over again." Alex said.

"I'll miss you." Elizabeth said, embracing Alex tightly. She released her and pressed a small bag of gold coins into her hand. "Just until you can find yourself a _respectable_ job." She said, emphasising 'respectable'. "And this is for your protection." She said, handing Alex the sword she had been using when practising with Will. "Don't think I don't know about your lessons with Will." She gave Alex a sad smile. "Take care."

"Thanks Liz. This means a lot to me." Alex said, giving her a watery smile. Then she turned and strode up the street before Elizabeth could see the tears building in her eyes.

******

Elizabeth didn't move as she watched Alex walk out of sight. She had seen the girl change drastically over the short time she had known her.

When Jack first brought her on the ship, just a mere couple of weeks ago, she never spoke unless she had to, and she was incredibly sad all the time. Although she was far from healed, Alex was a lot happier than what she used to be, and she smiled a lot more. And she definitely had a lot more confidence.

She had even managed to catch and hold the attention of the supposed most uncommitted person to walk the earth. Elizabeth had also seen a change in Jack since Alex had been on board. It was good for him, but she didn't know how he would react when he found out that Alex wasn't coming back.

Instead of making her way to the tavern that Will and Jack had gone into, Elizabeth went to the inn that she and Will always stayed at, and ordered a room, not wishing to drink, or be around the men, who would ask questions.

******

Alex wandered aimlessly up the streets of Tortuga. She had no idea which places were respectable and which weren't. She was counting on her gut instinct to tell her what to do. Only at the moment, her gut was confused.

Winding her way through drunken men lining the streets and whores dressed in bright clothes, trying to sell their trade, Alex managed to find a tavern that looked more respectable than the rest of the places. The paint outside was fresh and it was brightly lit, unlike most of the other places here. Its name was painted on the outside in big bold letters: The Lucky Chicken.

Alex liked the look of this place immediately, and she entered the tavern and strode up to the counter, where a woman was serving drinks. The woman looked about 10 years older than Alex, and she looked tough, like she could hold her own and didn't take any crap. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a bun, and she had dark brown eyes. For a moment, Alex was struck by the similarity between this woman and Jack, but she quickly passed it off as her mind still being on the pirate captain.

"Can I help you?" she asked Alex, when she approached the counter, giving her a strange look, seeing as she was still wearing Jack's clothes.

"Yes. Actually you can. I was hoping I could get a job here." Alex said.

"Have you had any experience?" the woman asked.

"Well…actually, no. But I'm a quick learner and a good worker. You'd be good to have me."

The woman chuckled. "I like that. You've got spunk." She said. "You're hired Miss…"

"Alex…andra. My name's Alexandra." Alex said, for some reason, she didn't want people, other than the crew of the _Pearl_, using the name that Jack had given her. She extended her hand for the woman to shake.

"You can call me Mara." The woman said. "You can start now if you like. Stash your things behind the bar here."

Alex did as she was told and Mara started explaining how the shop was run, prices and drinks and how to handle the occasional bad customer.

******

By the end of the night, Alex was well and truly tired. The tavern didn't close until long after midnight by the time they got all the drunken customers out and things tidied up. And she still had to find herself a place to stay.

"You look new in town. Do you have somewhere to stay?" Mara asked, as if reading Alex's thoughts.

"Actually, no, I don't." Alex answered.

"Well, why don't you stay here, then. I've got a spare room for my employees and you can stay here, free of charge, so long as you're working for me." Mara offered.

"Sounds good." Alex said.

"Right then, follow me." Mara said, leading Alex upstairs and showing her the spare bedroom. It was small, but inviting, and it had a proper bed, instead of a hammock.

"Thanks, it's great." Alex said, placing her belongings on the bed.

"Right, well I'll leave you to it. Good night." Mara said, exiting the room, pulling the door closed after her.

Alex lay on the bed, after stashing her possessions in the drawer and leaning the sword up against the wall. She found herself thinking about the _Pearl_ and wondered how she was ever going to live without the pirate life she had become so accustomed to. She fingered the scar on her right arm from the knife wound a while back as she thought.

Her thoughts turned from the _Pearl_ to its dashing captain. How she wished that she wouldn't think of him all the time. She was trying to get him out of her mind, but he just wouldn't leave. And she missed Will and Elizabeth. It hadn't even been a day yet, and she still found herself missing them. She found herself itching to leap out of the bed and race back to the _Pearl_ as fast as she could and not look back. But she couldn't.

She sighed and turned over, falling asleep almost instantly after her hard night's work.

******

Jack waited on the Pearl for the last of his crew to board. The sun was only just peeking over the horizon, giving the rest of them time yet to arrive.

Finally, all but one had arrived on the ship. He looked out across the harbour to the docks, to see if he could see Alex's slight figure walking up the dock, to the last dinghy that had been left for her. But there was nothing.

The sun had fully risen into the sky by that time. He was hesitating, delaying leaving in case she should turn up, but he somehow knew that she wouldn't come.

Elizabeth saw Jack gazing hopefully over to the docks and felt a pang of sympathy for him. She walked over to him.

"She's not coming back, is she?" Jack said when Elizabeth reached him, not looking away from the docks.

"No." Elizabeth said, confirming Jack's guess.

Jack didn't say anything else, he just stood there for a moment or two, then turned, barking orders to the crew. "Ready the ship, you scabberous dogs, we're settin' sail!"

Elizabeth watched as Jack manned the helm, expertly steering the ship out of the harbour. He was trying to pretend like he didn't care, but she knew that he did. She could tell that Jack wanted to go back and look for her, but his pride and the so-called Pirate's Code prevented him from doing so.

"Silly man." Elizabeth muttered under her breath as she turned and walked off.

******

Alex awoke late the next morning. The sun was already high in the sky, shining through the window. She momentarily wondered where she was, then remembered that she was in Mara's spare bedroom at the Lucky Chicken.

She felt a pang of sadness when she realised that the _Black Pearl_ would've left by now, and she wondered whether she'd done the right thing.

"Of course I've done the right thing." Alex said out loud, as if trying to make herself believe it was true. "I can't let it happen again." She paused and looked down, suddenly ashamed of her actions. "I am so selfish." She said quietly. "I just lost the only man I've ever been able to trust."

Alex slipped from the bed and dressed in the clothes she had got from Jack. They still smelled faintly of him and the sea, and she breathed in the scent deeply. She strapped her sword belt around her waist and her dagger around her leg. Tortuga didn't seem like a very respectable place and until she got to know the place and people better, she thought it'd be a very good idea to have some sort of protection on her. She was quite good with a sword now, Will had proved to be an excellent teacher, but she still wasn't good enough to go up against anyone with a lot of experience. She was more counting on the intimidation factor and her sharp tongue to ward off possible attackers.

Quietly slipping out the back door of the house, Alex aimlessly walked the streets of Tortuga, getting to know the small town. Drunken men were still lying unconscious on the streets and whores were leaving the hotels after a long night of selling their trade.

The place didn't look much better in the morning than it did at night. Filth lined the streets, animal - and quite possibly human - dung, vomit, broken glass and other disgusting sludge that Alex wasn't in a great hurry to identify.

Daytime vendors were opening for business, some selling fresh fruit and vegetables, others bakery items and others clothes and trinkets, but the money in Tortuga was definitely in the night trade.

Alex unknowingly made her way down to the docks and felt a pang of loneliness when she didn't see the familiar black sails of the _Black Pearl_. Whatever small hope she had left in her was brutally dashed.

~~~~~~

There you go, the end of chapter 8.

I have nothing else to say.

So I'm gonna go now.

Bye.

~Rhi

=)


	9. Admissions of Love

****

High Flier

Chapter 9 - Admissions of Love

~Pirate Rhi

Hey guys, sorry about the sad ending to the last chapter, I hope this one will be a bit better, and I can guarantee that the next one will be even better, but I'm not sure about the one after, because I haven't written it yet, but I'm pretty sure that'll be even better still, especially if you're a lemon lover. That's right, the lemon will be in chapter 11. I'm in the process of writing it as we speak…uhhh…type. It's holidays now so I'll have a lot more writing time.

I finally received my copy of POTC (I ordered it on Amazon…heh heh…I couldn't wait a few more weeks to buy it over here) on the afternoon that I was leaving for camp (grrr) and I only got around to watching it yesterday when I got back. It was the first thing I did when I got back…drool over Jack Sparrow for a couple of hours. I also got Once Upon a Time in Mexico, which I spent all of today watching and drooling over. Can you believe that OUATIM is still in the cinemas over here? Stupid behind the times New Zealand…Funny thing was that buying 2 DVDs online was only 97 cents more than what I'd pay for them over here, and that includes shipping and the exchange rate…

Anyway, I'm gonna stop blabbing now, I'm sure you guys don't wanna hear all about my life, so I'm gonna reply to some reviews and then you can read the chapter.

Padfoots-Pirate - Terribly sorry that you didn't get your lemon just yet, but it'll be in chapter 11 as I've just said and that'll give you something to look forward to.

Queen of the Caribbean - Well, I'm sure you'll be happy to see that your begging paid off big time and you'll see Jack's decision about halfway through the chapter. Enjoy.

CrazyCanoeingGIT - Well, I'm glad you have faith in me. And I assure you, I'm a sucker for happy endings, so there will be no sad endings in any of my stories, just a lot of mentalness and prolonged indecision in the middle…heh heh.

Eccentric Banshee - Please don't die…otherwise you won't be able to read this chapter…

Badassgothicgirl - Well done. You summed it up in one word.

~~~~~~

"We have to get him to go back." Elizabeth said to Will later that day. It was the first chance they'd had to talk alone for the whole day. Jack had been working the crew harder than they'd ever worked before in their lives.

"I know. But how?" will said. "He may seem a bit crazy sometimes, but he does have his pride. He doesn't like to admit he's wrong."

"I don't know how. All I know is that he's missing her and he's taking it out on us." Elizabeth said. "I think I'll go and see if I can talk some sense into him."

Her mind made up, Elizabeth turned and left the room in search of the infernal pirate captain.

******

After spending most of the morning sitting on the beach, idly sifting the golden sand through her fingers, Alex made her way back to the Lucky Chicken tavern.

"Ah, there's me little worker. Thought you'd run away." Mara greeted when Alex got back.

"No. Not me. I was just looking around the town, and I sat on the beach for a while." Alex said.

Mara raised an eyebrow at the sadness in Alex's voice that she was trying desperately to hide, but she didn't say anything. She'd learned a long time ago that you can tell more about a person by what they don't say, rather than what they say.

"So, what brought you to this lovely town." Mara said, putting a sarcastic tone on 'lovely'.

"It's a long story." Alex replied.

"Well, we don't open 'til 6, so we got plenny o' time yet." Mara said.

Alex shrugged, no longer paranoid about telling people her story. She credited that to Jack, Will and Elizabeth. They'd helped her come a long way from the secretive, hurting girl she was at the circus. "Well, to make a long story short, I was rescued from a horrible existance by a pirate, and he brought me onto his ship and took care of me. He was the first man in my life not to use me for something or another."

"So why are you here and not with your pirate?"

"He's not my pirate." Alex protested. "And I had to get away. I didn't want to get involved with someone else. It's only ever caused trouble."

"Really? In what way?"

"Just something that happened in my past. I vowed that I wouldn't love again." Alex explained.

"Sounds like it's too late." Mara said, reading between the lines. "Sounds like you've already fallen for said pirate."

"I know!" Alex said. "But that's exactly the problem. I was trying so hard not to get attached, but it's too late. Mara, I really miss him."

"Poor girl." Mara said, sympathising with Alex. "Does your pirate have a name?"

"Yeah. Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Really?" Mara said, drawing out the word, the familiar name clicking in her mind.

******

"What do you mean you're not going back?" Elizabeth exclaimed, disbelieving of Jack's choice.

"She made her choice and I have to respect that." Jack said simply, as he manned the helm of the _Black Pearl_, holding a steady course away from Tortuga.

"She was scared and confused! She didn't know what she wanted, so she ran." Elizabeth explained, trying to justify Alex's actions. "Stop being such a stubborn fool, Jack."

"I cannot be responsible for her actions. If she chose to run, it has nothing to do with me."

"But it has everything to do with you! Can't you see? She loves you, but she's scared. She told me that last time she fell in love with someone, he just used her and killed her brother." Elizabeth explained.

Jack gave Elizabeth a quick look, surprised at what she'd just said. "So that's why she didn't want to get close to anyone."

"Exactly! That's why you need to go and find her, before she gets even more hurt than what she is now." Elizabeth said, glad that she got her point across.

"About sail, mates. We're goin' back to Tortuga!" Jack yelled across the ship, after thinking for a moment. He was going back for his lass.

******

The figure cloaked in black waited impatiently in the shadows at the docks for its contact to come. Finally, a scruffy-looking man approached the person.

"Whaddaya want?" the man asked.

The person handed a small package bound in black cloth over to the man.

"This is your task. See that it is done quickly." The person instructed.

The man unwrapped the black cloth and took a look at the contents of the package.

"We shall set sail immediately." He stated.

"Excellent." The person said. "Half the money I have already given you. You shall get the other half on arrival if you are successful."

The man nodded curtly and scurried off to his ship where his large crew was waiting.

The figure in black watched as the ship sailed off before shuffling back up the street, blending in with the darkness.

******

Alex was very busy that night at the tavern. Mara had said that this was one of the busiest nights that she'd had since she'd opened a year or so ago. It was packed full of people, bossing Alex around, demanding drinks and service, even of the kind that she did not provide.

Alex was constantly pouring drinks and bringing them to the tables of the already drunk men. But so long as they paid for the drinks and didn't cause any trouble, it was all right with Mara.

There hadn't been very many difficult customers that night, and Mara had swiftly dealt with them all, using her experience in reasoning with drunken men to evict them from the tavern.

Alex stacked a tray full with mugs of various liquors, which she proceeded to deliver to various people sitting around the tavern. A lot of the guys would give her catcalls and try and grab her arse as she walked by, but Alex just ignored it, keeping her mind firmly on other things. Namely one Captain Jack Sparrow, and how she missed him.

"Hey, darlin'. Hows about I treat ya to a night of lovin'." A man said, grinning at Alex as she walked past. He grabbed her right arm tightly and pulled her to him.

Alex gasped slightly and winced at the tight grip he had on her arm, and the still sore scar from her knife wound.

"Let me go. I'm not interested in a night with you or anyone else." She stated clearly and coldly.

The man laughed, spurred on by the cheering of his friends. "I'm sure you'll change ya mind…darlin'." He said, hissing the word 'darlin' through his teeth as he pulled Alex down towards him.

Alex whipped out her dagger and pressed it to the man's neck. "And you, kind sir, shall take your hands off me and take yourself and your scrawny mates out of the tavern right now."

Shocked, the man released his grip on Alex's arm, which she pulled back towards her body gratefully, and he slowly stood. For a moment, Alex thought he would hit her, the anger in his eyes was so evident, but he motioned to his friends instead.

"Come on, mates. We're obvi'sly not wanted 'ere." He said after dropping a few coins on the table to pay for the drinks.

Alex was relieved when the man and his friends went out the door, and she busied herself clearing the table and collecting the money.

******

Jack had not left the helm of the Pearl since he'd made up his mind to return to Tortuga for Alex. It was now nightfall and most of the crew had gone to bed, but he'd declined Gibbs' offer of taking the helm for the night. It would be at least another day until they arrived back in Tortuga, the strong winds that pushed them quickly away from the town were hindering their progress back. He was tempted to get his crew to help by rowing, but he discounted that idea, they already thought him mad to be returning for a lass that left him. But he couldn't get her out of his mind.

Jack was startled out of his thoughts when he heard the noisy clamber of someone coming up onto the deck. He turned and saw Will stepping out onto the deck.

Will made his way over to the helm and leaned casually against the wheel.

"What do you want, Turner?" Jack asked, absent-mindedly checking his compass and adjusting their course slightly.

"You love her, don't you." Will said, straight up.

Jack raised his eyes from the compass and looked at Will contemplatingly. "What makes you think that?" he asked.

"Come on, Jack. Don't deny it. She's the best thing that's ever happened to you. That's why you're going back for her. You love her." Will pressed.

"Will, mate. You don't get it. Pirates don't love. It's an unspoken rule. If you get close to something, if you care about something, then it can be used against you."

"No, Jack, you're the one who doesn't get it. When something good happens to you, just accept it, not sit back and contemplate every way it could go wrong." Will said, exasperated at how stubborn Jack was being. "Think about it." He paused for a second, watching Jack's reaction, then turned and walked back towards his cabin.

Jack contemplated Will's words for a minute or so before deciding that he was too tired to think about anything at the moment. He called up to the night watchman that he was taking a rest, and made his way to his cabin, where he stripped off his shirt and fell back onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

******

The attack came with no warning. The creaking of the ship as it floated on the spot had lulled the night watchman to sleep and he snored softly, draped over the side of the crows' nest.

The _Bella_, floated silently up alongside the _Pearl_, thudding quietly against it. The crew of the _Bella_ went to work, bridging the gap between the two ships with long planks. They then climbed over the planks, spilling onto the deck of the _Pearl_. 

Silently directing three of his men to follow him, and the rest to stay put on the deck and keep a look out, the leader, a scruffy-looking man with an evil glint to his eye crept towards the Captain's quarters.

It was there that he encountered a fast asleep Jack Sparrow, lazily spread out over the bed, wearing only pants.

The leader crossed the room and pressed his knife to Jack's neck. The cold metal instantly woke Jack up.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jack growled.

"I would shut up and follow my orders, Sparrow, for if you don't, you shall never see the light of day again." The leader threatened, a menacing tone in his voice.

"That would be Captain Sparrow to you." Jack corrected, not missing a beat.

The man only pressed the dagger harder against Jack's throat. "I mean it…_Captain_…Sparrow." He thrust one of Jack's shirts towards him. "Get dressed. And not a sound." He reminded.

Jack complied and pulled on his shirt and reached for his coat, which the man allowed him to put on, once he'd checked the pockets for weapons. He was then gagged and cuffed and led out onto the deck towards the planks, which joined the two boats.

Once onto the Bella, Jack was forced into the brig, and he felt the ship move away. And the only thing he found himself thinking about was Alex.

******

It was a day later that Jack felt the ship dock and he was taken out of the brig. He was blindfolded and put in a small boat in which he was rowed to shore.

He knew where he was. The gap he had in the bottom of his blindfold confirmed it, but the smell in the air of sex, drugs and alcohol gave it away. He was back in Tortuga.

Once they were docked, Jack was prodded down the dock, trying hard not to trip over, sneaking peeks out of the gap in the blindfold, until he was instructed to stop at the end of the dock, where a conversation was carried out with someone.

"Here 'e is. Jus' like ye order'd." the leader said.

"Good." The other person replied in a low voice.

Jack looked through the gap in his blindfold and saw a figure cloaked in black hand a small pack age to the leader next to him.

"There's your payment. Now begone. Leave him to me."

"Yessir." The leader said, and his footsteps, along with two of his other crew members, faded down the dock.

Jack felt the cold, metal barred of a gun pressed into his back.

"Walk." He was instructed.

~~~~~~

Okay, I just thought of a funny joke that I heard on camp and I thought I'd share it with you guys and a bit of an up note top the end of this chapter…

So this guy walks into a bar and he's got this steering wheel sticking out of the fly of his jeans. The bartender takes one look at this guy and the steering wheel and asks the inevitable: "Why do you have a steering wheel sticking out of the fly of your jeans?". The guy looks down at the steering wheel and shrugs. Then he answers: "I don't know, but it's driving me nuts."

Now this is the part where you laugh hysterically and make your family look at you like you're nuts.

Heh heh.

Well, I'm gonna go watch Alias now.

See you in the next chapter.

~Rhi


	10. Revelations

****

High Flier

Chapter 10 - Revelations

~Pirate Rhi

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I've finally finished writing this story and I'm very sad to say that the next chapter will be the last. I may do an epilogue if I feel like it and I may do a sequel if I get a good plotline, but that won't be until I've finished writing the sequel to Caribbean Crusades.

Anyway, more on this next chapter, seeing as it is the last chapter, and for now you can enjoy this chapter.

Queen of the Caribbean - Well, as you'll see in this chapter, your begging worked in sort of a roundabout way…don't worry, everything works out all right in the end =)

Padfoots-Pirate - Yeah, I heard it as a pirate joke as well, but I forgot about that until you mentioned it. I have another one for you: How much does a pirate pay to get his ears pierced? A buccaneer… heh heh, I laughed for ages at that one.

Cayenne Pepper Powder & Clueless-Patty - Thankies, mates.

~~~~~~

The _Black Pearl_ pulled into the harbour of Tortuga after a painstaking journey chasing the ship that kidnapped their captain. The night watchman had awoken soon after the other ship had kidnapped Jack and not realising that Jack had been kidnapped, climbed down from the crows nest intending to wake the captain and inform him of the strange ship. Finding the captain missing and after searching the whole of the _Pearl_, the night watchman awoke the entire crew who, under the instruction of Gibbs, the first mate, gave the orders to chase the ship to wherever it went, to get their captain back.

Due to the _Black Pearl_ having the title of the Fastest Ship in the Caribbean, they made good time in catching up with the intruder ship and as soon as they reached Tortuga harbour, the whole crew went ashore to try and find out what happened to their captain.

******

It seemed to take ages to get to their destination, following a winding, precarious road sloping upwards.

Jack felt very vulnerable, being blindfolded. He wasn't used to this feeling. He was used to being in control, knowing exactly what was going to happen next and predicting what would happen in the near future.

The road leveled out and soon they reached their destination.

"Wait there." Jack was instructed.

Jack waited. This was not the opportune moment to escape, so he gathered information about his surroundings instead. He could faintly hear the ocean crashing against rocks, but it sounded quite far away, and below him, so he gathered that they were on or near a cliff. The wind was quite strong, and he could hear it rushing through the trees. In front of him, Jack heard a door creaking open, and he was pulled roughly inside.

Inside, the house smelled musty, like it hadn't been lived in for a long time. It suddenly seemed quiet, as if the thick wood blocked out all outside noise.

Jack was guided somewhere in the house and guessed that he'd been put into a room, when his guide left him and a door shut behind him and he heard a lock click into place.

"Stay here. I will be back in the morning. If you do not stay, you will regret it for the rest of your life." The figure said in a low voice through the locked door.

The person then left the house and shut the front door. They paused on the front step and removed the hood of the cloak, revealing a mass of dark brown locks.

"This had better work." The person muttered, the voice now distinctly female. "Don't screw it up this time, Jack Sparrow."

******

Alex awoke early the next morning from the bright rays of sun shining through the small dirty window in her room. Moaning, she turned over and tried to go back to sleep, but sleep evaded her. Blearily sitting up and rubbing her eyes, she stumbled across the room to where the jug of water was. She poured a small amount in the brown bowl and cupped her hands in the water, splashing it on her face in an effort to wake herself up.

She always found it much harder to wake up when she was not at sea, and it wasn't just the fact that she worked late. The crisp fresh sea air had always helped her sleep deeper and wake up more refreshed in the morning.

After the water treatment, Alex felt a bit more awake, at least awake enough to be able to put her clothes on the right way round.

After dressing, Alex made her way downstairs to where Mara was cooking some breakfast. The smell of cooking bacon and eggs had wafted up the stairs to Alex, causing her stomach to growl noisily as she entered the room.

Mara obviously heard Alex's stomach, because she laughed as she served up Alex's portion. "Here you go. You sound very hungry."

"Thanks." Alex said sheepishly, accepting the plate gratefully.

Mara served her own and sat down at the table opposite Alex. "If you don't have any plans for today, there's somethin' I'd like to show you." She said.

"What kind of something?" Alex asked.

Mara grinned. "A surprise somethin'. You interested?"

Alex shrugged. "Yeah, why not. When do we go?"

"As soon as you're finished here if you want."

******

It had been a while since Mara and Alex had set off from the tavern. After walking through the town, Mara had started leading Alex up a steep winding road through the native bush. Numerous times Alex repeated her earlier question on where they were going, and each time Mara replied with a rather vague answer.

The road leveled off and the bush on Alex's left side gave way to the majestic view of the sea far below her. The sound of the water faintly reached her ears and she smiled at the remembrance of the quiet lapping of water against the hull of the Pearl.

While she was caught up in memory, she failed to notice a small wooden hut across the other side of the clearing. It looked very weather-beaten, and like it would fall down at any second now, but nevertheless, Mara had started heading across the clearing towards it. Shrugging, Alex followed her, there was something about the cabin that had her curious.

Mara held a finger up to her lips after she opened the door and entered the small, dark house. Alex became suddenly wary of the situation, and with her warning senses on high alert, she followed Mara tentatively into the dark oblivion of the house.

******

Jack awoke from a light slumber to the sound of wood creaking. Not knowing whether it was a false alarm like there had been so many times tonight already, or his captor coming back for him. Whatever it was, he immediately put all his senses on high alert and fixed his eyes on the door of the small room, which was devoid of all furniture.

He'd managed to work himself out of his bonds and blindfold in the first few minutes of being in the room, and had searched every square inch of the room for a way to get out, but to no avail. The words of his captor had intrigued him, why would he regret it if he escaped? He wasn't sure, but he figured that he would find out now, because his ears picked up the sound of not one, but two sets of footprints.

Fearing the worst, but hoping for the best, Jack braced himself for whatever was to come next.

******

Mara crossed the room with light footsteps, heading towards a closed door across the other side of the room. She paused in front of the door with her hand on the door handle.

"Do you think you're ready for this?" she asked in a low voice.

Alex nodded, all kinds of thoughts running through her head, mainly wondering what in the hell Mara was going on about.

Mara inserted a key into the door and turned it, causing the lock to click back. She then turned the handle and pushed the door open.

The room was a lot darker than the rest of the house and it took Alex's eyes a couple of seconds to adjust to the change, and even then she thought that they still weren't working. She tried blinking a couple of times, and still she saw the same thing. But it couldn't be…could it?

Inside the small, dark room was Jack.

Obviously he couldn't believe it either, and his gaze flicked from Alex to Mara and back to Alex again.

"Alex…what…and Mara…" Jack said, trying to make sense of the situation. He suddenly laughed. "And here's me thinking I got meself some new enemies!"

Alex, though, was still rather confused. "Could somebody tell me what's going on?" she asked.

"And I wanna know why ye kidnapped me!" Jack demanded, but there was no angry tone to his voice.

"Well, I knew you'd never come back, and when Alexandra here told me her story and mentioned you, well, I thought I should intervene." Mara explained, answering Jack's question.

"For your information, I was coming back." Jack said, looking rather smug.

Mara looked surprised. "I underestimated you then, my apologies."

"Wait a minute, none of this is making any sense." Alex butted in.

"Well, it's rather ironic, really. Unknowingly running to the sister of the man you're running away from." Mara filled in.

Alex stood there for a moment, stunned at the information, and then she burst out in laughter. "Yes." She said, wiping tears of laughter away from her eyes. "That is ironic. And just like me to do something like that."

Jack watched Alex laugh, and revelled in the moment. He'd never thought that he'd see her laugh, she always seemed so sad about things, but here she was, the happiest he'd ever seen her. He smiled, glad that he was finally back with her.

Mara looked from Alex to Jack and smiled, knowing that her work was done here for the moment. She slipped away from the two and dropped a note on the table before exiting through the front door.

It was a little while before Alex realised that Mara had left them alone in the cabin. She'd been too preoccupied with Jack and being happy just being with him again that she didn't notice Mara's quiet exit. Her attention was brought to a small white square of paper lying on the table. She reached over and read the note, which brought a smile to her face.

"What is it, luv?" Jack asked.

Alex read the note out loud to Jack. "'I've done my bit, now it's your turn to do yours." She handed the note to Jack, who read it and placed it back on the table.

"Jack, I want to tell you something." Alex said, pulling Jack towards the table, where she sat down on a chair, indicating for him to sit on the other one opposite her. "I…I want to tell you why I did this."

"You don't have to." Jack cut in.

"I know." Alex said, smiling at Jack. "But I want to. I've had a lot of time to think about this, and I think you should know." Alex took a deep breath, and prepared to tell her story for the first time ever.

"I lived with my mother, father and older brother in a small house on a farm when I was young. My parents were really good to us, making sure we had the best of everything. They would spend all their savings making sure we had a good upbringing. This was until I was about 14. There was a fire, and both my parents died in it. I blamed myself for it for a long time. I had convinced myself that it was my fault, but now I realise it wasn't. It was an accident. Me and Lucas, my brother, were left on our own. We didn't have anyone else to take care of us, so we lived on the streets for about 3 years or so, scavenging food, begging, and pick pocketing. Then the circus came to town. Lucas and I were fascinated by it, and we begged the ringmaster to let us work for him. He gave us jobs cleaning up after each performance. A year or so later when he discovered me mucking around of the practise trapezes, he decided that he'd train me for the flying trapeze. Lucas would spend all of his spare time helping me train, we were very close. When I turned 18, the ringmaster decided that I would make a good wife for him. He forced me to have sex with him whenever he felt like it. I didn't know any different, but Lucas found out and he tried to stand up for me. They just killed him. That was when I vowed never to trust another man ever." Alex paused and looked up at Jack and smiled at him. "But now I know that not all men are like that. And I thank you for that, Jack."

"Yer welcome, luv." Jack said, grinning at Alex.

"And Jack…I think I love you." Alex said, giving Jack a shy smile.

"Well, I would say that's a very good thing then, because I love you too." Jack replied. "What do you say we go back to the Pearl then?"

"Actually, I can think of something better we can do, right here." Alex said, motioning towards the bedroom.

Jack raised a questioning eyebrow (I almost wrote elbow for some strange reason. I don't know why, my fingers just typed it. Try to imagine raising a questioning elbow without laughing. I can't do it.) at Alex. "Are you sure, luv?" he asked. "Don't think that I'm forcing you into anything here."

"No, Jack. You're not forcing me to do anything. This is what I want. You're what I want." Alex said, stepping towards Jack so that her body was flush with his, eliminating all the spaces in between their bodies. She gazed into his eyes, which had softened, causing their dark brown depths to look like molten chocolate. She licked her lips before closing the final distance between them and capturing his lips in a tender kiss. She felt Jack respond and he took over the kiss, causing a bolt of heat to slash through her abdomen and head south.

"I think we should continue this in the bedroom." Jack mumbled through multiple kisses.

Alex didn't bother responding with words, instead she replied with a muffled "Mm-hm" and they made their way into the bedroom and collapsed on the bed in a fit of passion.

~~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and you can look forward to the lemon being in the next chapter. I'll clearly label which chapter is which so there is no confusion and yelling at the author.

~Rhi


	11. Freedom

****

High Flier

Chapter 11 - Freedom

~Pirate Rhi

__

This chapter contains the **censored version** of Chapter 11. This chapter is rated PG-13. The lemon will be in the next chapter. It is clearly labeled. Anyone who is under 18 or does not wish to read the lemon should read this chapter. Anyone who does want to read the lemon should skip to the next chapter. I do not take any responsibility for anyone who is underage or anyone who does not wish to read the lemon chapter if they choose to read it. Thank you.

Hey guys, sorry I took so long in posting these last chapters, I guess I didn't want the story to end, as I've become quite attached to it. That, and I've been very busy with soccer training, because soccer season's just started, and I'm in the top team at school, so I need to train harder than usual.

Anyway, I might write an epilogue if I can get a good idea, otherwise, this will be the last chapter, and I thank everyone who read this story and even more thanks to those who were my constant reviewers, it's much appreciated.

My next projects are a sequel for Caribbean Crusades, so those of you who enjoyed that fic, look out for the sequel, which I'll post as soon as I get some written (and the actual plot established, cause at the moment, it's a whole lot of nonsense), and I'm thinking of writing in response to ChibiHermione's challenge, so if you're interested in them, look out for them soon.

Queen of the Caribbean - Well, I'm glad you think my story's worthy of begging…heh heh…and I'm glad you liked the elbow bit, when I realised what I'd written, I cracked up laughing as well.

Song for this chapter: Your Body is a Wonderland ~ John Mayer

~~~~~~

Alex relaxed in Jack's arms, leaning back against him, just enjoying the comfortable silence that surrounded them, and the feeling of security that Jack's firm body gave her.

"We should probably go back down to the docks. I'm sure your crew would've discovered that you're gone and come after you." Alex said, as she shifted on the bed, starting to get up.

Jack placed a quick kiss on Alex's mouth. "You're right, luv. We should probably go." He rose from the bed and collected his clothes from the floor and took one last look at Alex's naked form before chucking her clothes at her. "Almost a shame to cover that up." He said, grinning at her.

"Just get dressed, Sparrow." Alex said, grinning back at him, then turning her back to him before they would have to have a repeat performance of what happened just minutes ago. She tugged on her clothes and turned around to see that Jack was already dressed and staring at her ass appreciatively. 

"Jack!" Alex scolded playfully.

Jack held up his arms in mock surrender. "Sorry, luv." He said.

"Yeah, sure you are." Alex said, taking his hand and leading him out of the house, kicking the door closed behind her.

Jack and Alex made their way back down to Tortuga, where Jack's keen eyes spotted the _Black Pearl_ floating in the harbour and he pointed it out to Alex.

"See, I told you." Alex said, grinning at Jack.

"So, will you come back with me? And stay with me this time?" Jack asked, his dark brown eyes looking comically sorrowful.

"Yeah. I'll stay." Alex said confidently. "I don't want to leave again."

******

Jack and Alex reached Tortuga soon after, and without a word, they both headed towards Mara's bar before even thinking about going to the docks. They both felt an obligation to thank the woman who'd basically made this possible.

The bell on the door jingled as Alex pushed it open. Mara was standing behind the bar, cleaning smudges off the glass mugs. She looked up at the two and grinned, "So, it worked then?" she asked.

"Aye, it worked." Jack replied. "Jus' don't go doin' it again, savvy?"

"Well, hopefully I won't need to." Mara said, placing the now clean mug down on the bench. "But I actually did have a favour to ask you."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Well, I was hoping that I'd still have a place on your ship after all these years." Mara asked.

Jack laughed. "The ol' sea is calling, eh? You could never be a landlubber, Mara, you're just not cut out for it. Sailing's in the blood. 'Course you can come back on me _Pearl_. In fact, we're leaving right now, so you'd better get a move on."

Mara grinned, her grin almost identical to Jack's grin, and tossed the teatowel onto the bench and made her way upstairs to pack her things.

Alex followed Mara upstairs to gather the few possessions that she'd brought ashore with her and they gathered downstairs so they could make their way down to the docks together.

The urgency to reach the docks once again seemed to make each of them walk faster than usual down the hill. The sparkling blue water came into view in no time and the tug of the ocean seemed stronger than it had ever been before. The _Black Pearl_ waited in the harbour, majestically riding the small swells of the sheltered waters.

They quickly loaded themselves into the dinghy Jack had used to reach the shore and rowed their way out to the Black Pearl, where they climbed aboard the ship, all three of them enjoying, once again, the feel of the ocean beneath their feet.

The crew was all gathered out on deck, and all of them seemed pleased to see Alex again. Elizabeth strode across the deck to Alex and enveloped her in a tight hug, welcoming her back to the _Pearl_.

"I'm glad you decided to come back." Elizabeth said, then lowering her voice, she added, "Jack's been a pain in the behind without you around."

Jack looked over at Elizabeth and faked an indignated look, but he knew that he had been hard on his crew, so he didn't bother denying it.

"We should probably get going then." Jack said, swaggering proudly over to the helm of the ship. He took the wheel and grabbed a bottle of rum he kept tethered next to the wheel in case of emergencies, well, general consumption on all occasions, actually. He took a swig of the drink and swallowed it, grinning over at Mara and Alex, who were still standing by the railing.

"Get ready to set sail!" Jack yelled to his crew. "All hands on deck! Man the braces!"

Alex made her way to Jack's quarters and replaced her things in their rightful place. She'd turned her cabin over to Mara, knowing that she wouldn't need it anymore, and she was glad for that.

Knowing that she still had a grin firmly plastered on her face, she made her way back out on the deck, where she just enjoyed the feeling of being back aboard the _Black Pearl_.

The _Black Pearl_ slowly moved out of the harbour and when she finally reached the open ocean, the wind started to blow, filling her sails, pushing her along as fast as she'd go.

Alex found her way to the bow of the ship and admired the view. She would never tire of the sea, the way the water sparkled and reflected the sun, the dolphins that would swim along on the bow wave, playfully leaping from the water and performing water acrobatics that she could only dream of doing, and the seemingly boundless expanse of the ocean.

The sun was setting now, the reds and oranges mixing together perfectly, reflecting on the ocean and staining the clouds.

Jack came up behind Alex after turning the wheel over to Anamaria, and wrapped his arms around Alex's waist. They stood in silence for a moment, drinking in the sight, until Jack broke the silence.

"Freedom, luv. It's freedom."

~~~~~~

*sniff* I can't believe this is the end of the last chapter. I really don't want this story to end, but as they say, all good things must come to an end, and this story is a good thing, so I guess this is the end.

What'd be really great is if everyone who reads this chapter could review it for me. I'd really appreciate that, and I'd love you all forever. And if that doesn't appeal to you, I'll get either Captain Jack Sparrow or Will Turner to love you forever, whichever one tickles your fancy.

So I shall say my final goodbyes, and leave you with an inspirational quote…

Life's tough…get a helmet.

Hmmm, maybe not so inspirational, huh?

~Rhi =)


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